Leading By Example
by CatBut
Summary: The bonds of brotherhood are forged in steel, brothers and sisters in all but blood but to Alexis Allore family is the only tie that binds and she will do anything to find her son. Follow Knight Alexis Allore as she travels the unforgiving commonwealth for her son, escapes her past, makes new friends and finds new love Written in alternating first person point of view
1. Chapter 1

_Hello All,_

 _i deleted my other fallout 4 fanfic called All is Fair in Love and War and decided to re-vamp it a little, its now in first person point of view and follows the life of Alexis Allore, its still heavily influenced by the BOS quest line so if you aren't familiar and don't want spoilers be warned. now i'm obviously adding some things and changing a few things to make it fit my story. I've never written in first person before so forgive me if i mess anything up. i will be adding in other characters as i go along and including other factions im just starting with the brotherhood of steel._ _please read and re-view and as always thanks for looking_

Chapter One

"Knight Allore… wake up. you don't want to be late on your first assignment"

Something or rather someone is beside me practically shouting and it takes me a moment to realize they are talking to me. Allore was my maiden name and it always gets taking used to hearing it again; once Nate died I didn't think it was right to keep his name, or maybe I wasn't ready to dish out my personal life when the Paladin first asked my name. it's too complicated trying to explain to everyone what happened to me in the past, and in my own way burying it down makes it a little more bearable each day.

"Knight lets go"

Damnit now they are pushing me, I groan and roll over on my opposite side, facing the edge of the bed and my would-be assailant. It's my bunk mate, I think her name is Alicia or something I can't remember exactly; everything is a haze from last night. It's probably the alcohol numbing my mind, I did drink in excess last night. My eyes flick to her feet and then to the floor hoping she doesn't see the empty bottle of vodka half kicked under my bed.

"Alright, I'm getting up" I mumble and swing my legs over the edge of the bed, for a moment the world spins and I clutch my head. _Okay easy does it Lex, let's not puke all over my bunkmate's feet_. I open my eyes and find her still standing there, In the same spot staring down at me, her short cropped auburn hair is pulled into a tight pony tail that pulls at the skin around her eyes, makes her look older. She has emerald green eyes and small pouty lips, she is probably around my height, average for a woman and is what I'd consider underweight or maybe not that feminine if that makes sense.

"You don't want to keep Paladin Danse and Elder Maxson waiting" she says crossing her arms over her chest.

I roll my eyes and bite my lip to keep back the sarcastic comment, deciding that a nod of the head will suffice and she will disappear.

"Okay, I'm going. What time is it anyway?" I yawn and stretch, my hands brushing the underside of her bunk.

"It's 0500" she says frowning at me.

I snort and standup forcing her to take a step back and we lock eyes for a brief moment. I'm about as tall as her, but we look worlds apart. Where her skin is weathered and scarred from surviving in this shit-hole world, mine is delicate and porcelain, free from scars and radiation burns. Maybe that's why she's glaring at me, because Paladin Danse decided that he'd be my sponsor not hers. Some random wastelander that no one has heard of, that is over two hundred years old. I see the way that these people look at me, as soon as I stepped foot on this ship the whispering began, the open stares and the eye narrowing glares from the other female soldiers. As if I am going to steal away some soldier boy they have their eye on. Fuck them, I'm already tired of this new 'world' and I've only been awake for a few months.

"Okay you can go now" I snort and push my way past her towards the trunk along the opposite wall of our designated quarters that house my crap. I can hear her heavy breathing behind me and she shuffles back and forth on the balls of her feet. I roll my eyes and look over my shoulder at her, shooting her a beaming smile. I'm awarded with more eye narrowing glares, as if her eyes could burn holes right through me into my vital organs and I would drop dead right here. I'm sure that would be perfect for her, kill off the new bitch, throw her body off the Prydwen flight deck.

"Remember to wear your uniform new girl, that vault suit isn't mission approved" she hisses and turns tail, throwing open the door and stomping down the hall.

I get up and peek my head through the doorway, watching her lean body strut down the bowels of the Prydwen, her nose up in the air and I can't help myself "Orange really isn't my color but thanks for the advice" she turns and looks over her shoulder at me, her small lips pulled tight into a grimace and snorts, spinning on her heel, and stomping away. the soft thud of her boots breaking the silence as everyone around stops talking and watches the scene unfold. I exhale heavily and go back into my quarters leaning against the cool metal wall next to the door. _Nice going Lex let's just get everyone on this metal bucket to hate your guts real smart._ I close my eyes and beat my head softly against the wall behind me.

My sulking is interrupted by the sound of laughter and I peek my eye open and turn my head towards the door. Standing beside me is a young woman, she looks about twenty, she has bright blue eyes and a warm smile, her hair is the color of honey and hangs to the top of her shoulders, she's a little shorter than myself and a bit heavier but has a pretty face, that is smiling at me.

"Sorry about that, my mouth gets carried away sometimes" I say a closing my eyes and shrugging my shoulders.

"It's alright no one likes Knight Richmond anyway" she laughs again

I open one eye and look at her, she has made no move to leave and I suppose that being miserable to everyone isn't going to win me any favors. "I'm Alexis, or Lex for short." I say smiling at her, which seems to make her smile even larger.

"I'm June Adams, I'm also a Knight my bunk is right across the hall" she says gesturing to her quarters with a flick of her head.

"Nice to meet you" I say trying to force some sincerity into my voice, she seems nice and her smile is uplifting my sour mood. I turn and drop to the floor lifting the lid on my trunk and begin digging around for the ghastly orange jump suit I was given yesterday. I fling out some of my clothes onto my bed behind me, and smile when the offending suit comes into view. Its bright orange which seems a little idiotic considering the environment is mostly dull browns and charcoal black, as if the life has been sucked right out of the commonwealth. Which I suppose is an accurate description. I can tell June is still standing behind me and I turn and look over my shoulder at her. she's staring at the clothing flung haphazardly over my bunk. My eyes follow hers and I smirk, she's looking at one of my dresses, its denim and has a light brown belt under the bust. I found it in a suitcase in an old abandoned bus. It fits me pretty well, considering I had no idea what size it was or who owned it before the bombs fell.

"You can try it on..,if you want" I tease, my eyes flicking from the denim dress to June's face, which looks comprehensive. I stand and grab the garment holding it out to her, the color is to pale and would wash her out I shake my head and throw it back on the bed. she's watching me I know it because her head is tilted to the side and there's a small smile on her face as I dig through my clothes tossing them out of the trunk.

"Here, this would do wonders for your eyes" I say tossing her a clean green dress.

She catches it and rubs her fingers over the smooth cotton. "Umm, we aren't really supposed to wear stuff like this" she says holding the dress out to me.

I raise a brow in confusion "What do you mean, it's only a dress, lord why is everyone so uptight around here"

She shrugs and shakes her hand waving the dress at me and I shake my head smirking "Nah, keep it, Lord knows it'll look better on you than it does on me. besides when you get some down time you can always wear it"

"Thanks" she says and clutches the dress to her chest and I smile at her, she seems so young as she holds the dress to her chest, cradling it like a baby. a pang of grief hits me in the chest and my eyes fall to the floor. I used to hold my son like that, god I miss him, I miss Nate.

"Hey, are you, alright?" she asks and touches my shoulder giving it a little shake

I bite my lip hard and flick my eyes back up to her, nodding my head "Yea I'm good, sorry I guess I was daydreaming" I shrug and turn grabbing my clothes off the bed and stuff them back into my trunk. not looking up I ask her if she knows where I can shower and grab some food before I must meet the Paladin and report to the Elder.

…

I've decided that living on the Prydwen has its perks, despite having a bitch for a bunkmate. I can shower when I want to, and when I say shower I mean running water that is actually safe, not like bathing in the lake that is so radiated that your skin burns and blisters. Shampoo is like nonexistent now so bar soap is like a gift from god when you find it. Lucky for me there was still some in my old house when I first woke up. I strip off my vault suit and step into the shower turning the dials until heavenly water pours down on my face. the satisfaction is indescribable and I smile to myself, rubbing my fingers through my long dark hair. The water helps wake me up and I roll my shoulders and rest my forehead against the wall letting the water run down my back. The door opens and a blast of cool air hits my ankles and I groan. I forgot that the showers are open concept and shared by all female soldiers. A tap turns on behind me as someone else starts to shower. It's an odd feeling being in a room with other woman completely naked, it reminds me of when I used to play intermural sports as a teenager and we had to change in the locker rooms together. I guess the principal is the same, we share the bathroom because when you break it down we all have the same parts. I turn off the water and step back towards a small bench in the middle of the room that holds my clean suit and towel. The towel is ratting looking but it will suffice to dry my hair. I quickly dry off and pull on my new orange uniform. It fits surprisingly well, however its far from flattering. I smirk and pull the zipper down just to the top of my cleavage, and finish pulling on my issued leather boots. Satisfied with my clothing I go to the only mirror in the room and quickly comb my hair out pulling it back into a braid that hangs over one shoulder. My hair is long, way longer than what is considered 'appropriate' for a soldier and when I met Knight Captain Cade he suggested that I cut it off, to avoid injury. I smirk and roll my eyes at myself, yea right like id cut off all my hair and wear it up in a fucking spinster bun all my life to please these people.

I finish my hair and makeup which let me tell you is one of the hardest things about living in the wasteland. Makeup is almost nonexistent and finding a tube of mascara is like winning the lottery. I know it might sound petty to still wear makeup when the world literally exploded and people are dying to crazy fucking mutant things, but it's one thing that makes me feel normal. It's like the old days when I'd wake up, do my hair and makeup, and pick out what outfit to wear before getting Shaun ready and heading out to the grocery store.

The other women in the bathroom glare at me when I'm all finished, and I smile at them sarcastically. _All right bitches If you are going to give me the death glare for looking good, forget about Lex teaching you how to do a smoky eye._ I grab my old vault suit and stuff it into a small leather backpack I fling over my shoulder and leave the room.

…

The Prydwen reminds me of a giant slumbering dragon sometimes, there's a constant buzzing from deep within its hull that keeps it afloat; like a pair of giant lungs and its snoring. Or maybe it's more like a bee hive, with the worker bees all scurrying around getting work done, knights on patrol, scribes riffling through books and doing laboratory tests, initiates sucking up to their superiors, and squires eagerly learning about brotherhood of steel history. All these busy bees aiming to please their leader, the queen bee, or in this case the king bee Elder Maxson. And then there's me, I accepted Paladin Danse's offer to join the brotherhood of steel because I want to find my son, and this group of structured soldiers looks like my best bet.

I make my way down into the mess hall where Danse said he would meet me before we report to Elder Maxson. It's full, tables filled with tired soldiers getting off shift and bright starry-eyed initiates waiting for their first assignment. I feel the urge to hurl and roll my eyes at their enthusiasm. I slide onto a bar stool next to the distribution counter and click my nails on the countertop. I can feel eyes shifting over me and burning glares and exhale pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Hey, you're the Vault dweller right" someone says beside me and I frown.

"Yup that's me alright" I grumble and turn to glare at my new-found company. He's handsome enough, dark brown eyes and shaggy brown hair, his skin has a dark complexion and he is smiling. His teeth are slightly crooked, and I find myself focusing on his mouth. _Fuck sakes Lex say something else._ "You can call me Alexis or Knight Allore or whatever" I shrug and begin tapping my nails against the countertop.

He thrusts his hand out towards me and grins "Ben Taylor, or Knight Taylor if you want"

I look at him through the corner of my eye and smile accepting his hand "So Knight Taylor, have you seen Paladin Danse?" I ask letting go of his hand.

He looks over his shoulder and down the hall towards the sick bay as a lumbering figure clad in power armor heads toward us. He turns and looks at me again smiling "he's right there Lex"

I roll my eyes and hop off my stool "No shit" I laugh and turn to stand before the Paladin.

"Knight Allore, Knight Taylor follow me Elder Maxson Is waiting for us on the flight deck" Danse says his voice serious, his eyes flick towards me and I roll my eyes at him.

"Sheesh Danse, don't give me that look, I'll be good I promise" I say sarcastically holding up my arms, shaking my head when he sighs and turns stomping away in his power armor. each footfall echoing through the metal airship.

"Did I miss something" Knight Taylor asks looking at me quizzically and I shrug

"Okay so I might not be the best at following rules and I might have accidentally shot him when we were collecting the deep range transmitter thing for scribe Haylen." I say crossing my arms, smirking. Knight Taylor is staring at me and dumb look on his face before he breaks out into a deep laughter and I feel my cheeks heat up "Okay take it easy, maybe I wasn't the best shot back then. But hey he was wearing power armor it's not like I actually broke skin or anything"

"It's cool, just don't shoot me on this mission" he laughs and winks at me, before turning to follow Danse who was openly scowling at us to hurry up and follow him as he is waiting at the door leading to the flight deck.

"Oh, bite me" I laugh as I follow behind him.

….

The air is almost lighter up here than it is down on the ground, as If its cleaner and free from radiation. This high off the ground the breeze is kinda nice, not being coupled with dust and dirt flying up in your face. The view from the Prydwen flight deck is amazing, not exactly beautiful but amazing none the less. I can see the ruins of Boston Commons up here, and the old airport. From this height, the ocean actually looks pretty, the sunlight reflecting off the water the gentle waves lapping against the shore. I close my eyes and inhale taking in my surroundings and grounding myself before I have to walk down the flight deck and accept my first mission. The buzzing of the Prydwens engines and whistling of the wind as it flutters past my ears, the scuffling of a broom on metal as an initiate sweeps the deck, the soft thudding of leather boots on steel and then the loud stomping of feet clad in power armor and the grinding of metal joints and the loud exhale of a superior officer. _Its Danse scowling at me again_ I open my eyes and find him staring down at me _Yup I was right_

"Can I help you" I ask cheekily, crossing my arms under my chest

He scowls further his warm brown eyes narrowing "You can start by taking this seriously Knight"

I exhale and shrug my shoulders rolling my neck "Oh please Danse, I'm taking it seriously I'm just admiring the view from the magnificent Prydwen" I say a little sarcastically patting the metal hand rail next to me. The response seems to satisfy him and he nods a ghost of a smile on his face, clearly my sarcasm went straight over his head; but in all honesty, I'm not surprised he has the same sense of humor as a sack of potatoes.

Knight Taylor snickers and I look around Danse's hulking figure to smile at him, at least someone gets it. Danse turns and leads us down the flight deck towards the old command center, and I raise a brow at Taylor who shrugs his shoulders. why would Elder Maxson want to meet us down here and not the command deck that he normally loams over.

Speaking of Elder Maxson there he is, standing all magnificent in his awesome leather coat which I totally want to steal. He's leaning against the railings of the Prydwen a frown on his face as he's staring at something. I bunch up my lips and shoot a glance at Paladin Danse who is also frowning, seriously what is with these guys don't they ever smile. Like c'mon lighten up a bit, life isn't that bad. Well I mean it totally sucks but smile a little, chicks might dig it. My eyes follow Maxson's stare and focus on a building that looks like a heap of crumbling bricks and a thought pops up in my head. _Wait a second that's that old army fort or something, I remember Nate telling me it was a bomb stockpile or something._

I'm lost in thought for a moment as memories of my late husband coming rushing back and I don't notice that we've stopped and I'm staring off into space as I bump into Knight Taylors back. I blush in embarrassment and mumble and apology stepping back, ignoring the disapproving glare the paladin was shooting me. Elder Maxson is looking at me, his steel blue eyes flicking up and down my figure and I look away awkwardly.

"Decided to wear the uniform after all" he said his voice starling me as he addressed me first

I turn my head and look him in the eyes and nod saying the first thing that comes to mind "Couldn't exactly walk around naked now could I" as soon as the words left my mouth I tensed up and smacked myself "Shit, sorry I mean yes Sir, although orange really isn't my color…. uh sir" I say awkwardly trying to regain some composure.

He just looks at me blinking and for the briefest of moments I think he smiled before his face hardened and he turned to address the Paladin.

"Smooth" Taylor whispers in my ear leaning toward me and I snort "Again bite me" I whisper back to him as Maxson briefs the Paladin on our new mission.

"Is that an invitation" he whispers again his voice lowering seductively and I laugh out loud interrupting Maxson.

"Am I interrupting something Knight?" he growls his blue eyes narrowing and I shake my head shooting Danse and apologetic smile.

"No sir" I grind out through clenched teeth as I stomp my heel on Taylor's toes. His intake of breath behind me lets me know I did it hard enough and I smile in satisfaction.

Elder Maxson exhales and continues droning on about the super mutant camp that he wanted to destroy because it was too close to the Prydwen, blah, blah, blah boring. The conversation only got slightly interesting when he mentioned fat man shells and my eyes light up and I found myself smiling. He looked at me curiously "Are you familiar with Fat man shells Knight?"

"Yea I used them on the man that murdered my husband" I said a little venom entering my voice at the thought of that bastard Kellogg.

"Let's not ever piss her off" Taylor mumbled under his breath

Maxson rose a brow and smirked "Well you understand then why they are so valuable and must be collected from those abominations. They are vital to our campaign."

"Right go in blast some mutants, get the bombs, everybody is happy" I said smiling moving to lean over the edge of the Prydwens railing.

Danse smiled at my eagerness and I winked at him, my eyes flicked to Elder Maxson who was frowning again at my interruption "Sorry, sorry I know I keep flapping my lips, I'll shut up"

Maxson smiled just a little bit and turned to look down at Fort Strong "well I commend your enthusiasm Knight"

I winked at him, then froze, holy shit did I just wink at the fucking elder, what if he thinks I'm flirting with him, leaning up against the railing smiling like a moron, winking and Jesus I think the zipper is still down on my flight suit. these people are so damn serious all the time that I probably look like a harlot. I stood up straight and moved standing beside Paladin Danse who gave me a questioning look. Maxson clearly didn't realize that I tensed up or it went right over his head and I blew out a breath. Of course, he doesn't think I'm flirting with him, he probably wouldn't know what that was like if it came up and bit him on the ass.

"Knight Allore" someone was talking and I was zoning out "Knight Allore….Alexis"

I snapped my head around and blinked stupidly at Danse "Huh, yea what Danse"

He frowned "we've finished mission brief we are to report to the vertibird docking station for pickup, please go gather your power armor and necessary weapons"

I blew out a breath and shook my head, smirking "Nah, power armor is your thing big guy, I don't do the hole clunky giant robot man thing well. I prefer to sneak up on my enemies and get'em before they know what's happening"

"This mission will be dangerous knight, we are going up against super mutants, I would highly recommend power armor and a more…..reliable weapon choice" he said gesturing to the pistol and combat knife strapped to my thighs.

I narrowed my eyes at the big tin soldier "Pfft, please Danse I'm all set just like this, no power armor no laser rifle. The only thing I'm missing Is a damn suit that isn't fucking orange"

"Knight, show some respect to your superior officer" it was Elder Maxson who was still standing behind me, and his voice sounded gravely as he practically growled at me through clenched teeth.

I will be the first to admit that I have a temper and sometimes I say things that I shouldn't or speak without thinking and I whirled on him and poked a polished nail into his muscled chest my own icy blue eyes glaring daggers at him "But out Maxson, I didn't ask for your two cents, besides it's called joking try it sometime"

I felt a large heavy hand on my shoulder that gripped painfully tight pull me back and I shot daggers over my shoulder at Danse whose metal hand was still on my shoulder. He let go and opened his mouth to speak when Elder Maxson cut him off, silencing him with a glare of his own.

"You are dismissed Paladin, I will send you your Knight when I've finished speaking with her"

 _Great I opened my damned mouth and ruined my chances at finding my son, because I insulted the overlord._ I felt my anger wain and exhaustion overwhelm me and my eyes turned from pools of ice to a lake of emotion, I didn't want to look at him and get talked down to like some child. I set my jaw and looked past him at the ruins of Fort Strong.

"Alexis, is it?" he said and I turned shocked that he used my first name and I nodded my head in response, unable to form a coherent sentence in my head. He continued staring at me a frown on his face his eyes slightly narrowed "when I appointed you the rank of Knight, it was a privilege most outsiders are not given, since you are not familiar with the brotherhood and its rankings I will not issue any form of punishment this time. But understand from this point on that insubordination will not be tolerated is that clear"

I exhaled heavily and did not meet his eye, I bit my lip and gritted my teeth to keep myself together "I understand" I already felt tired and I haven't even stepped foot off the airship. I turned and faced him, my face hardened and unreadable as I masked his own expression and he dismissed me with the brotherhood salute. I repeated the salute a fist to my heart, although it felt odd and the urge to salute like a soldier from my own time was strong.

…

I stood beside the Vertibird and waited for Knight Taylor to return in his suit of power armor, with Danse beside me. When I first walked up he tried giving me the third degree but I put a hand up told him to save his unapproving glares for some other bitch. I think he was surprised at my sour mood which I normally didn't take out on him. I actually liked Danse quite a bit, he was a bit of a racist brute but he had a big heart and under all that steel he was a big softy.

I decided that instead of standing in complete silence I would go over my equipment like a proper little soldier girl. I had strapped to my right thigh my 10mm pistol, I had spent some time tinkering around with it with the help of Preston and Sturges back in Sanctuary Hills, and it was now pretty deadly with improved sights and a hardened receiver. On my left thigh, I strapped a combat knife. I didn't use it that often preferring to pick off my targets from a long range but it came in handy on several occasions when ferals ghouls came rushing out of abandoned buildings, the blade sinking into their decaying skulls like butter. It was nothing special just a standard knife but I liked the added protection. I counted out several stimpacs and a couple of doses of rad-x in my leather backpack. Instead of power armor I opted for hardened leather which allowed me better range of motion and was considerably lighter. My main weapon of choice and my pride and joy was the combat rifle on my back. I prefer ballistic weapons over laser weapons any day. I find laser rifles to jumpy the shots scattered and inaccurate where a bullet to the brain puts you down the first time. Plus, the ozone odor from laser weapon discharge isn't that pleasant, I prefer gun powder and lead.

"Okay we ready to go" Knight Taylor said, his voice seriously muffled and distorted by the air filters in his power armor helmet.

I turn to Paladin Danse and nod my head and we all get into the vertibird. The knight-lancer tells us to hold on tight and I brace myself gripping on the metals bars over the open door of the bird as it begins to shake and the supports holding it to the Prydwen release and we are airborne. The engines roar to life and the rotors tilt vertically moving us forward. The wind is rushing past the open door and I inhale savoring the wind on my face.

"Knight Allore, use the minigun when we get into position" Paladin Danse says stepping up beside me.

For the first time, I notice that he's not wearing his helmet, and I roll my eyes at him. _hypocrite, telling me it's not safe to not use my power armor but here you are exposing your damn head_. I move to position myself beside the minigun mounted to the door-frame. I've used one once before when I killed my first deathclaw, now that was a fight. Think giant lizard demon on roids and you have an idea of what I fought. I run my hands over the smooth cold metal and grip the handles that spin it back and forth swaying the tip of the gun. Despite being mounted its actually quite heavy and it takes some strength to steer it back and forth. I lightly pull on the trigger and watch the barrel begin to spin and let go before any shots are fired. I don't want any stray bullets whizzing through the air and nailing friendly brotherhood birds in the air.

We are right on top of Fort Strong and I can't believe my eyes it's a giant mutant and its slinging giant pieces of broken building straight at us. _Perfect that's just what I needed today a large helping of fucked up._

I line up the sights on the minigun and sneer at the massive monstrosity and pull the trigger raining down death from above. The barrels bursts to life and sprays out hundreds of bullets down pelting the mutant abominations like rain, I can see blood and gore burst from their disgusting green bodies and I feel myself smiling like a devil. Red beams of laser fire are shooting down from Knight Taylor and Paladin Danse as they pelt the mutants using the broken-down buildings as cover.

The behemoth turns its ugly head and roars at us, dragging its knuckles through the broken concrete gathering up a fist full of rubble. It runs straight towards us hovering over the battlefield and I roar back at it.

"Come to mama"


	2. Chapter 2

_I've decided going further that I will be switching between the main characters points of view, that way you can get an idea of what each character is feeling_

 _Cheers_

Chapter Two

The wind is whipping past my face and my heart beat spikes as a surge of adrenaline rushes through my veins, this is it, this giant fucking mutant abomination is going to knock us from the sky. My finger twitches and I pull the trigger harder as if more pressure is going to suddenly kick the minigun into high gear. I watch the bullets whiz through the air and imbed themselves deep into the knotted green hued skin of the behemoth and find myself snarling at it, lips pulled back and teeth exposed like a deranged wild animal.

It howls in protest and pain and I can see blood burst from its mangled wounds. It's always odd, seeing these creatures bleed, their blood such a distorted color compared to mine; its darker like it's been mixed with mud and tar, a black thick substance.

"Die you son of a bitch" I yell over the roar of the minigun and the concentrated fire from my bothers.

Its swinging around a massive club that looks like it's been fashioned from an assortment of rubble and an old fire hydrant and it smashes through a crumbling brick wall showering one of its mutant brothers in debris earning another deep rumbling wail. Projectiles are hitting the re-enforced metal hull of the vertibird and I duck and weave swinging the minigun barrel back and forth to avoid being hit by bullets and chunks of concrete from the small mutants and their massive brother.

Voices are coming from inside the cockpit but I am so focused on killing the behemoth that I can't really make out what the knight-lancer is saying. I flick my eyes quickly to Danse who is still standing beside me, half of his massive power armor blocking the open door of the vertibird; he's clutching his laser rifle tightly and firing off quick precise shots. I roll my eyes he's always one to try and conserve as much ammunition as possible, even when the spray and pray method as I like to call it is better in these situations. I don't know how many rounds the mounted miniguns are capable of firing but its considerably larger than a standard minigun and I'm thankful that the brotherhood has a wider pool of resources than I found myself stuck with when I rescued Preston from the museum of freedom.

Something big hits the side of the bird and I'm temporarily blinded by an explosion of rubble and sparks, my hands instinctually coming up to protect my eyes and face. The vertibird lurches heavily to the left and I lose my footing my leather boots sliding uselessly against the metal flooring. Massive metal hands are on my shoulders, pulling me to my feet and anchoring me to the spot. I look up to see Knight Taylor's helmeted face and I bet under that helmet he is smiling at me, a shit eating grin.

"Thanks, big guy" I say patting his metal forearm and grab the minigun, my fingers twitching for the trigger.

He says something but the filter on his helmet distorts his voice and the roaring of the damaged rotor on the vertibird prevent me from hearing him properly. I can smell something burning, it smells electrical coupled with the distinct odor of smoke and fuel. _Oh, shit that can't be good_. It's the rotor, its smoking badly and the vertibird is swaying back and forth as the lancer tries to steady the airship. He's yelling at his co-pilot, his voice panicked as they slowly circle back towards the Prydwen, losing altitude. My eyes scan for the behemoth through the destruction and I see it in the middle of the battlefield. Its exposed clearly now, bended down on one massive knee.

It's clearly injured one arm hanging uselessly at its side, the other clutching the fire hydrant weapon is swaying back and forth slowing, kicking up plumps of dust. I fell anger well in my chest that it hasn't died yet, after the rain of bullets id shot through its vital organs. Clearly the minigun isn't doing the trick, the behemoths skin Is too thick and it'll take all fucking morning to kill it at this rate. My eyes quickly scan the inside of the vertibird, grenades, laser rifles, a first aid kit, nope that won't do. _Ahah that's more like it._ A Fatman, perfect that'll put that bastard down, nothing like using a small nuclear weapon to kill your enemies. I whip my head around and look at Taylor and gesture for him to take the minigun, I move around Paladin Danse's hulking figure ignoring the quick questioning glare he gave me and claim my prize.

Perfect, the Fatman is loaded and ready to fire, a single mininuke in the chamber. The gun is heavy, if you can even call it a gun as I pull it onto my shoulder and squeeze my frame between the Paladin and now the Knight to get a clear shot at the behemoth. Danse turns and looks at me as the tip of the Fatman launcher comes into his peripheral vision. He's probably going to be pissed at me for even thinking about using a mininuke to kill the mutants, but I don't care I want those things dead and I want them dead like yesterday.

"Knight, what do you think you are doing with that weapon" he barks out his voice strained as he yells over the roaring engines.

I blow out a breath through clenched teeth and ignore him, fixing the sights on the behemoth "I'm going to kill that fucking mutant Danse, I want to get this over with"

He turns his massive body towards me, shuffling one metal foot at a time, in power armor he towers over me and I know he's going to try the hole disapproving Paladin glare act and tell me I'm being insubordinate and I exhale and bite the inside of my lip a habit I've discovered that has grown since being around him.

"I can't let you do that Knight, using a weapon of that caliber would be un-wise, the detonation radius alone could be enough to threaten our safety as well as the safety of every brotherhood soldier on this mission" his voice is stern and harsh and I smile and chuckle under my breath as I pull the trigger, the whistle of the mininuke flying through the air fills the silence, until the ear splitting detonation as the nuke hits pay dirt and a mushroom cloud reaches high into the air, little chunks of blown up behemoth and rubble flying through the air.

"Too Late" I say cheekily and turn putting the Fatman down beside a small bench situated in the middle of the vertibird.

Danse is just staring at the massive crater smoking in the middle of the small island Fort Strong is settle on. His mouth is slightly ajar and his normally warm chocolate brown eyes and intense and narrowed around the edges. I move to the cockpit and shoot the Knight-lancer a thumbs-up "Okay boys set us down, I want to finish this". They turn and look over their shoulders at me, open mouthed expressions behind their helmets and slowly nod.

I return to stand beside Knight Taylor and Paladin Danse, squeezing between their metal bodies, my smaller frame huddled safely between the two. I grab onto the safety handrail above my head and lean out of the side of the bird as it slowly descends towards the ground. Most of the smoke has settled and its eerily quiet, I find myself holding my breath waiting for the shouting of the mutants to begin, the whizzing of bullets and the hissing of metal as brotherhood soldiers clad in power armor rush the scene. The wind is rushing around my face, blowing my braid wildly behind my head, and I imagine it looks like a cat's tail whirling around.

…..

We land on the edge of the small land mass, next to a massive concrete bridge connecting Fort Strong with the rest of downtown Boston. My boots hit the ground, with a soft thud and I instinctually pull my rifle off my back and flick the safety off. As soon as we all depart from the aircraft it takes off towards the Prydwen, leaving a trail of smoke behind in its wake. I cringe Proctor Ingram is going to be pissed, it'll take weeks to get the vertibird back in a service.

"Let's move" is Paladin Danse, he sounds angry and I look at him, hoping he's not mad at me. I blow out a breath when he's not even looking at me, his eyes are focused on the crumbling buildings surrounding Fort Strong. His lips are pulled into a frown and his eyes are burning, I can tell by the tension in his jaw that he's clenching his teeth, hard. _What's the matter Danse, I mean I hate mutties as much as the next person but you look like you're going to explode._

My thoughts are interrupted by the loud distorted laughing, and my eyes scan the surrounding crumbling buildings. Through the settling smoke and past the shell of a building a super mutant is standing atop a pile of rubble, a massive dog like creature at his side. it's the most grotesque looking animal I have ever seen, completely free of any hair its bulging muscles are covered with a green colored skin. From this distance, it's hard to make out every detail on its hideous appearance, but one thing is for certain it has the largest mouth I've ever seen, its canines are ridiculously long and yellow. Its jaw is huge and its lips are pulled taunt over to many teeth, jammed in its oversized mouth. It howls and I feel the hair on the back of my next stand on end. Fuck its charging towards us, propelling forward on its overly muscles legs and I'm standing still like a deer in the headlights.

Knight Taylor is suddenly in front of me, using his body as a shield as the hound leaps at me. the sound is awful as its massive mouth clamps down on Taylors metal arm, its teeth grinding against the steel, like nails on a chalkboard. Danse is yelling at me to move, when another hound comes rushing towards me ignoring the battle between Taylor and its brethren. Shit, I turn and sprint towards the bridge using the crumbling buildings and rusted out husks of prewar vehicles as a shield between myself and the snapping jaws of the mutant hound. I pull out my pistol and fire of twelve shots in rapid succession into the chest of the hound as it barrels over the rusted shell of the car. It yowls in pain and lunges for me, its massive body knocking me off balance and I stumble towards the edge of the bridge. Its bleeding badly, open wounds pouring thick dark blood onto the dry concrete. Its jaws are open and I can smell the rancid stench of its breath this close; its teeth are an awful yellow and saliva is pouring from its mouth a thick red tongue lolling to one side. its wheezing and its beady yellow eyes are focusing on me.

Shit I need to reload but my clip is in my pocket, I slowly back up as the dog paces on wobbly legs as it bleeds out. _Die already you fucker._ But of course, it doesn't and it lunges at me, its powerful hind legs propelling it the small distance between us and I bring up my pistol just in time for it close its mouth around my hand, white hot pain shoots through my hand as its teeth try and shred through my leather gloves. My pistol Is jammed deep into its mouth, and I'm wrestling with a dog if you can even call it that that must weight twice as much as myself. Its gurgling and choking on my weapon its teeth grinding against the metal and the leather armor I'm wearing. Its eyes are burning, predatory and savage as it tries to bite my hand off. I'm thankful for the pistol in my hand and I have a death grip on it, wedging it deeper into its mouth, separating its teeth from completely severing my hand. The pain is indescribable as its bottom fangs dig into the soft flesh of my forearm and wrists and I know I'm bleeding. Its spit is like acid and its burning, the Geiger counter on my pipboy is jumping as my body absorbs the radiation from the mutant hound's bite.

 _Okay seriously fuck this._ I'm getting increasingly pissed off trying to free myself from the jaws of hell, and I knee the hound as hard as I can in the ribs, trying to get it to release my shredded hand and arm, the pain is making it hard to concentrate but I feel white hot anger flooding my veins. I wouldn't, couldn't be killed by a fucking mutant hound when I still had to find my son. The hound yelps but keeps a firm grip on my pistol, its thick red tongue lapping at my spilt blood, its teeth grinding as it shakes its massive head.

I scream, and reach down with one hand trying desperately to get ahold of my combat knife as the weight of the hound pushes us over the edge of the bridge. Suddenly I'm airborne and I realize that I'm falling, a feeling of dread washes over me as the hulking figure is above me, its clawing at the air and its long nails dig into my thighs as we fall. We hit the water below hard and I feel the wind get knocked out of me. the cold radiated water burns my exposed skin, and I feel my eyes prickle with unshed tears. My hand is free but I can see, red ripple in the surrounding water and it feels heavy and limp like lead. The water burns my wound and I clench my teeth hard, using one arm to pull myself toward the shore, toward Knight Taylor and the Paladin, who were still fighting off the remaining super mutants. _Where the fuck is the hound._ My head spins and looks for the dog, it has to be here somewhere lurking under the water waiting to pull me under.

I see something floating just a few feet away from me, its bobbing up and down and through my narrowed eyes I see it's the hound. It's alive and kicking its legs to stay afloat but with the bullet wounds its losing to much blood, the water around It is a dark color and its drowning.

"Good die you stupid fuck" I mumble to myself, and hiss as the pain in my arm is becoming unbearable. I'm losing to much blood myself and I can feel my legs turn to lead and my breathing is coming in panicked wheezes. My vision is blurring and I blink hard to clear them. _Kick your legs Lex, get going you need to reach the shore, you need to live._ I use what strength I can muster and kick my legs hard to get moving, I can only use one arm the other hanging behind me, leaving a trail of blood; and I'm not getting high enough above the water level, I cough up mouthfuls of cold disgusting water that burns my throat. My legs are burning and my head feels dizzy but the shore is only a few feet away now. _Five, four, three, two, thank god._ I pull myself onto the soft sandy shore, panting heavily I collapse in exhaustion. I'm trying to calm my breathing to create rational thoughts but it feels like I'm floating on thin air, my arms and legs feel like they don't exist anymore, completely weightless and my vision is blurring in and out of focus.

…..

I can see my family before the bombs fell, my old house, my white picket fence and green lush yawn. Our Mr. Handy robot is outside, trimming the hedges, he stops and rotates using his pincer like hand to wave as I open the front door and enter my house. I am smiling and my heart feels light, it's the happiest I have been in months and I want to cry when my husband Nate walks into the living room holding our baby boy. He's so handsome, tall with dark hair and bright green eyes. He's smiling at me and I want to rush to his side to hold him, hold both of them again. Shaun is babbling his chubby hand outstretched towards Nate, brushing against his chin. I go to move but I'm stuck on the spot, I can't move, I can't breathe, and I feel something hot and wet roll down my cheeks I'm crying, something is burning in my chest and I want so desperately to move, just to touch Nate's face to feel his warmth one more time. I feel hopeless and an unbearable loss, when the house trembles and shakes, and somewhere in the distance a loud explosion rocks the foundations of my life. They are fading now and I cry for them to stay.

"Please don't leave me, please I can't do this I'm drowning out here. You were the soldier Nate not me…..please" I'm screaming my voice cracking my throat burning as they disappear from sight. I want to die, I want to curl into a ball and succumb to my misery, but something is pulling on me. Someone is shouting and I feel listless, my arms and legs are lead and I can't move.

….

Danse's POV

She's dying, she's so pale her blood is staining the soil, oh god please don't let her die. I dig through my supply bag inside my power armor. _c'mon where are the damn stimpacs_. Knight Taylor is standing behind me, he's quiet watching me frantically search for something to save Knight Allore. I whirl on him, my eyes crazed

"Do something dammit" I hiss and release the airlock on my power armor, stumbling out to kneel beside Alexis. She's not moving but her chest is slowly rising and falling, and I feel emotions I'm not familiar with overwhelm me.

Knight Taylor moves to stand beside her prone body his massive metal body blocking out the sun light casting her in shadow, her skin is so pale, her dark hair matted with blood and mud, she's frowning and something wet is glistening on her cheek. He kneels which looks absolutely ridiculous as power armor is not designed for sneaking, he hands me a couple of stimpacs which I greedily snatch from him. I mumble a thank you and he nods getting up and moving to give me some room. I roll up the shredded shelve on her right arm which looks like a mangled mess of flesh and born, I didn't have the chance to help her when the hounds attacked I couldn't protect her. I feel ashamed and I clench my teeth hard. _This is your fault Danse you let her die, you let her down._ I inject her with a stimpac in the arm above the wound and one in her cut up thighs. I get up and quickly go to my power armor reaching inside I pull out a clean bandage and some purified water. She is going to need some Rad-away and antibiotics as soon as we get back to the Prydwen, or she would develop an infection. I turn around and Knight Taylor is beside her, out of his power armor, on his knees he's brushing her hair out of her face and talking to her. One hand is pressed against her neck as he searches for her pulse, I hold in a breath when he looks up at me and smiles

"She's one tough son of a bitch, the stimpacs are bringing her around Sir" his green eyes are hopeful and I release a breath

"We should bind her wounds" I say, my tone perhaps a little too stern to serious

Taylor nods and moves away and I drop down beside her and quickly wrap her mangled arm in the bandages apply as much pressure as necessary to stop the bleeding. The wounds on her leg have stopped bleeding thanks to the stimpacs and she's mumbling under her breath. I strain to listen to what she's saying my eyes finding Taylor's and he just shrugs. She's distressed and her face is contorted in pain, she's crying out someone's name a man's name I think. Yes, there it is she's calling out to a Nate and I frown. She's never mentioned this Nate before.

She begins to thrash around and I'm afraid she's going to tear open her wounds, I put my hands on my shoulders apply a small amount of pressure to hold her in place while the stimpac does its work. She's fluttering her eyes, and I look down at her face waiting for her to regain consciousness.

Her eyes snap open and she's staring at me, her blue eyes so pale they almost look grey. They are unfocused at first her pupils dilated and the whites of her eyes bloodshot. She blinks and focuses on my face, I release her and sit back on my heels. It's a queer feeling being outside my power armor, I feel naked and exposed like this and I can't wait for Knight Allore to come to so I can get back inside it.

She sits up and clutches her head groaning, she tries to lean back on her injured hand and hisses in pain shooting forward to rest her forehead on her knees as she brings them up. she's shaking and I can't tell from this angle if she's crying again. After a few moments, she looks back up at me again and I feel my breath hitch. Her eyes are narrowed and there is such an intensity and unbridled rage that I want to instantly jump back into my power armor to avoid her wrath. She's sneering at me, baring her teeth and I don't understand what is happening I just saved her life.

"What the have you done Danse" she growls and her eyes bore holes straight through my heart.

…..

Alexis POV

I'm awake again, and reality Is a cold slap to the face. I'm alive two hundred years in the future in a world I hate and don't understand, my husband is dead and my infant son is gone. I'm alone, the sole survivor of my family, a woman out of time. I don't belong in this world, I should have died instead of my husband. I'm a lawyer not a damn soldier, I could barely defend myself against a dog let alone a nation of crazy fucked up mutants, ferals and drugged deranged humans. How could someone like me save my baby, when I don't even know where to begin. I clench my eyes shut as anger and despair overwhelms me, I want to curl up into a ball and disappear. I know Danse and Knight Taylor are waiting for me to say something, probably thank them for saving my life, but all I want to do right now is shove my combat knife through Danse's eye socket. I know I shouldn't be angry at him for saving my life, he was only trying to help me, I know he couldn't bear to have someone died on his watch, especially someone he considers to be a friend. But I can't help the feeling of hatred from flooding my senses. Don't get me wrong I don't hate Danse at all, but I need someone to blame for my shitty life and I look up at him my eyes burning with rage and he flinches.

"What have you done Danse" I growl as I stand up on shaky legs.

He takes a step toward his power armor and it takes me a moment to realize he's not incased in a giant suit of metal and bolts. He looks different than I would have imagined. Bigger, taller, and far more muscular, he reminds me of Nate a little bit which only increases my rage. He doesn't say anything but his eyes are narrowed clearly not impressed with my lack of appreciation. I don't care right now, I don't care about anything, I was actually happy for the briefest moment in months and he stole it from me. I don't care if it's because I was going to die, I would have preferred that, I wouldn't have to pretend anymore I wouldn't have to suffer.

"Alexis, calm down" its Taylor he's inside his power armor and he's moving toward me his metal hands outstretched.

I whirl on him "Calm down, calm down. That's fucking rich" I laugh darkly and he stops "I won't calm the fuck down _Knight_ nothing about this fucked up world is going to make me calm down. I thought I was back in my old life, I was happy and then you bring me back from the brink" I say pointing a finger at Danse like a dagger. I continue before either of them can say a word, new tears streaking down my face "I wanted to die damnit, at least then I don't have to wake up every morning to an empty bed and an even emptier life. I don't have to drown myself in alcohol just to feel an ounce of happiness. I don't have to struggle every day of my fucking life to forget about him, forget about the man I loved so dearly that is dead now. I don't have to destroy myself because I haven't found my baby, I haven't looked hard enough, I am a terrible mother. A terrible person, I've killed so many people…. I've killed so many people" I stumble to my knees and clutch my hands to my face ignoring the white hot pain that explodes from my mangled wrist and cry unable to hold the tears back.

Someone is moving to stand beside me and through my hyperventilating tears I can't tell if its Danse or Knight Taylor. There's a hand on my shoulder and its warmth brings me a little comfort. I rub my eyes furiously and blink back tears as I look up to see the Paladin standing beside me.

"you can be mad at me all you want Knight, but I'd never let anything happen to someone on my team not while I'm alive to help you. I won't pretend to understand what you are going through, and I'm sorry about your husband, but you can still find your son, it's not too late for that, and the brotherhood helps their own, we will find him" his voice is surprisingly gentle and I feel terrible for my outburst. He holds out a hand to haul me to my feet and I accept, sniffing. Knight Taylor is smiling at me, his eyes kind.

"Thank you, look im sorry Danse" I try to apologize but he cuts me off.

"Its fine knight, now let's get you back to the Prydwen, Knight Captain Cade will have to take a look at those injuries" he says getting back into his suit of power armor.

I'm confused and I shake my head, "Wait what about the mission, did you already clear the mutants and secure the nukes?"

Danse is already inside his power armor the air locks hissing as it closes completely "Negative soldier, you were to incapacitated to continue the mission, we will return to the Prydwen and have your injuries taken care of, another team can be deployed to secure the mininukes."

I flex my jaw and shake my head harder, "Nope I don't think so, this is my first mission and il be damned if I mess it up completely. I feel fine let's keep going we can finish this" a set my jaw my eyes narrowed in challenge.

Danse sighs and closes his eyes "Knight, you will follow my orders, and I order us to abort this mission because anyone suffers serious injury"

I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest "with all due respect sir, I'm going to have to refuse. I want to finish this, let's get it over with"

Knight Taylor is looking between me and the paladin is power armors helmet tucked under one arm. I shoot him a look to back me up but he remains silent. I fiddle with the buckles on my thigh that house my combat knife, I didn't lose it when I feel in the river. My right thigh was missing the added weight of my pistol and I felt saddened at the loss. I found that gun inside the vault and I've carried it ever since. My rifle was still slung across my back and I was glad I at least still had one gun on my person. I ignored the glares from Danse as I set out towards the crumbling building that housed the mininukes. I stumbled over the rubble and sidestepped the dead bodies of the super mutants, picking over their corpses for anything useful. I found a couple stimpacs and plenty of .38 ammunition stuffing it inside one of the several pockets in my leather armor. I grabbed a decent looking pipe pistol off a super mutant that had been partially blown up, from my use of the Fatman and I smirked. The gun looked in good enough shape and I tested the trigger firing off a few rounds. It was considerably lighter than my pistol and no doubt less effective but I'd made do with less.

I could hear the paladin and knight behind me, stomping through the broken buildings as I walked silently picking up useful items. I could tell Danse was mad at my insubordination but a glimmer of respect shone in his eyes at my determination to finish the mission. After I collected anything I deemed useful off the dead bodies we came to the front door of Fort Strong. Danse signaled for us to be quiet as he checked the perimeter before slowly pushing open the door weapon at the ready.

The stench of decaying flesh instantly assaulted my nose and I wanted to retch. The door swung open and bathed the large lobby in warm sunlight illuminating the once magnificent army base in light. It was like a scene out of a horror movie. Knight Taylor whispered under his breath behind me and I covered my mouth and nose with a hand.

"Oh my god" I muttered, clenching my eyes tightly.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The smell was the first thing I noticed when the Fort Strong armory doors swung open and bathed the lobby in warm sunlight. It was a putrid, heavy smell that lingered in the air and assaulted my nostrils even when I tried covering my nose to block the pungent odor. I knew before I even looked that there would be blood and decaying body parts. It reminded me of when I was a young kid, visiting my father at his house during hunting season. He would be outside in his little shed cutting up a buck he'd shot and hung up the day before. The smell of raw meat, only this was tenfold worse this was meat that been sitting in the shed too many days when the normally chill November weather decided to get warm. The deer carcass would rot, and the meat would turn a disgusting greenish tinge, and the flies would be littered all over it, my dad would curse and swear and take the deer down dragging it into the forest for the wolves.

Only this wasn't a deer I was smelling and it wasn't a pack of wolves that were the ones eating it. Danse swung the door open wide and I wanted to retch. There was blood and body parts littered throughout the small lobby. The glass ceiling was cracked and smashed and, the second level balcony was partially collapsed. A shopping cart was sitting off to one side, it was smeared with congealed blood and a gnawed broken ribcage was sitting inside it. Several severed limbs were tossed around the shopping cart, small bits of flesh clinging to the bone. A meat bag, filled with various limbs was suspended from the ceiling, leaving a blood trail cascading down the wall and onto the floor directly under it. The entire image before me stopped me in my tracks sitting in the open doorway halfway between heaven and hell. It was disturbing, the old paintings, the decorations still clinging onto the walls after two hundred years, the past mingling with the present in a twisted mash up of blood, body parts and rotten meat. _My how the world has fallen._

I felt anger well in my chest at the abominations that killed these people, killed them as their food source, or for sport I didn't care. They needed to fucking die, these were people once and they were gone, just gone. I closed my eyes and stepped into hell, my boots thudding on the wooden floorboards. Danse and Knight Taylor were at my side, weapons ready and I was glad to have their support. I pulled my rifle off my back and unbuckled my combat knife.

I could see a small fire flickering on the second floor, the flames creating shadows on the walls behind it. the partially collapsed balcony was at a perfect angle for me to climb up and get a decent vantage point, I was better at sneaking than fighting in hand to hand combat or charging the enemy guns blazing. I turned to face Danse and inhaled heavily, ready to tell him we should spilt up and dreading the glare and lecture.

"Paladin, I'm going to climb up to the second floor and drop down, and scout out the area before we move further into the building" I said my voice serious and my lips pulled taunt.

He looked down at me and frown, slowly shaking his head "separating is not tactically sound, we have no idea how many hostiles are in this building, we should go together as a team"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and bit my lip, exhaling through my nose. "Listen Danse, I know you want to stay together to make sure I don't mess anything up, but we both know that scouting the area is beneficial. I will report back in five minutes"

I didn't give him the chance to say anything as I spun on my heel and made my way towards the collapsed section of the balcony. It was behind the meat bag suspended from the ceiling and I gaged when my leather boot slipped in the sticky congealed blood. I slung my rifle over my shoulder and crouched hauling my weight up the slope onto the second floor. It was quiet, a little too quiet and I felt a chill run up my spine. There was nothing except for garbage and rusted out desks, save for a single document that I figured Quinlan would enjoy looking at. There was a rusted-out barrel along the edge of the balcony that was glowing a soft orange and I checked inside. It was full of coals, still hot and smoldering and I stopped straining my ears to listen for the telltale sounds of mutants.

 _There_ something moved just under me, it was a loud shuffling sound, heavy padding feet on wooden floor boards, followed by a deep rumbling laugh and sporadic gunfire. _Shit, Danse, Taylor._ I rushed to the drop in the floor and peered over the crumbling balcony, Knight Taylor was pinned in the corner of the lobby by a massive super mutant holding onto a crude looking weapon, I think it was a tire iron of some sort, fashioned with a large jagged blade. Taylor was using the butt of his rifle to stop the onslaught of attacks, but the sheer strength of the mutant was driving him further and further into the corner, sparks flying as the mutants' weapon, slashed down at the power armored torso and forearms. I took a deep breath and pulled my rifle off my back, I flicked off the safety and lined up my sights right at the back of the mutant's bulbous green head, and fired. I felt myself smile when the mutants head exploded showering Knight Taylor in a fine mist of dark blood and bits of brain matter.

I could hear more mutant laughter and I knew Danse was down there, fighting off who knows how many mutants by himself. I reached into my bag and pulled out a stealth boy and slapped the button. Suddenly I was enveloped in a thin shroud and I was essentially invisible, not that it would take much to fool a bunch of imbecile mutants. I knew I only had a limited amount of time before I would emerge and I slide down the crumbling floor, squeezing my small frame, between the busted floor boards, into the room next to me. I landed with a soft thud and quickly scanned the area, immediately to my right was a mutant, using a pipe pistol. He never took notice of me as he was emptying clips into the paladin, while he fought off another mutant. I felt my blood boil, and I rushed behind the mutant, using my invisibility to my advantage I plunged my combat knife deep into its side, right where its kidney should be located. It screamed and stumbled backwards, the spray of .38 bullets pelting the surrounding walls and bursting through the floorboards above. I felt feral and I heard the roar escape my lips before I knew what was happening. I rolled out of the way as the mutant tumbled backwards, blood oozing from the combat knife embedded deep in its knotted green flesh.

"Puny human where are you" the words coming from the mutant were crazed as it rapidly shot off round after round of .38 bullets from the pipe pistol, in no particular direction. I weaved and turned with the stupid creature as it lumbered around, trying to find me. I lunged for the knife in its back and pulled at it viscously, earning a spray of blood right onto my face and chest. the mutant whirled and swung at me and I tucked and rolled out of the way. It took me a split second to realize that the stealth boy had worn off and the mutant was charging right at me, its small yellow eyes crazed and its massive hands balled into fists one still clutching the pipe pistol swing towards me.

The blow from the tightly curled fist of the mutant was like getting hit by a train, right into my ribs and I wheezed as air exploded from my lungs. I was flying through the air towards an open doorway, and I hit hard against the wall, my legs crumpling uselessly under me. my chest was on fire, as I tried desperately to suck in a greedy breath, an intense burning like smoking the worst quality cigarette in the world. I coughed, and spattered blood down my chin, the fucking mutant definitely broke several of my ribs. I didn't have time to worry about my injuries I needed to get moving and I managed to get to my feet and lunge into the next room, across a large table just as the mutant went to crush me again with another blow from its fists. it hit the wooden floor instead splintering the wood, like matchsticks.

"Stupid human, stand still" it rumbled removing its hands from the broken floorboards. I cringed as I pulled myself to my feet, ignoring the increasing pain in my side and fired several shots from my pistol into the mutant's face as it turned to look for me, in what I'd consider to be some kind of dining area. It hit the ground hard, in a bloody crumpled mess and I smiled satisfied for my small victory. My eyes flicked down at my pipboy and my smile faltered, the tiny green vault boy was flashing and one of his arms and his torso was blank. _Dammit not good, must have taken more damage than I thought._ I reached into my pocket and fished for a stimpak to keep the injury from slowing me down. A warmth spread through me as soon as the needle left my skin, like being wrapped tightly inside a soft blanket, but left me feeling incredibly thirsty.

I rushed out of the dining area through a crumbling kitchen back towards Danse and Knight Taylor. I passed two more dead mutants, their bodies still smoking from the laser burns and I sneered down at them jumping over their bodies. There were weapons being fired close by and I moved as quickly and quietly as possible through a maze of old rusted out desks, and over-turned filing cabinets. I could see the left leg of a super mutant in the doorway up ahead, it was firing a ballistic weapon that sounded similar to the wind up of a minigun. It was hitting something, each rapidly fired bullet, pinging off something metallic and I cringed. It was in a firefight with someone in power armor and by the sounds of the grunts and the less frequent laser fire the mutant was wining. I grabbed my rifle and snuck behind one of the overturned desks as cover, using the desk to lean the barrel of my rifle on I fire a shot into the heel of the super mutant, knocking it off balance. The mutant howled out in pain and stumbled, as I reloaded my rifle and fired again into its exposed kneecap. The muscles of its leg were shredded and dark blood was sprayed on the wall opposite the mutant. I could hear loud thumping as something large came rushing down the small hallway toward the mutant. It was Danse, in his power armor rushing towards the filthy abomination crashing directly into it, a mass of steel and flesh. The mutant gave a guttural laugh and crashed through the wall behind it, losing its weapon in the process as it struggled against the onslaught of the paladin.

I didn't know how many mutants were still alive, but I knew I needed to get to that minigun before another muttie could pick it up. I jumped over the fallen desk and slide across the floor clutching at the large powerful weapon, my rifle slung over one shoulder. I watched through the new hole in the wall, as Danse smashed the mutant with the butt of his laser rifle and it went buckling over to the ground. He raised up one massive metal foot and stomped on its head. The sound made me shiver, a wet suctioning as he pulled his boot from its caved in skull. He turned to face me and I stood up, heaving the weight of the minigun onto my good side; his eyes were intense and his face was splattered with flecks of blood, his lip split open. My eyes trailed down his power armor and cringed, it was badly beaten around the torso, several small dents and tiny holes punched straight through, the metal plating on his left forearm was completely missing, exposing the white exoskeleton of the suit.

"Danse are you okay" I choked out, feeling guilty that I wasn't there to back him up when he needed it. He didn't answer me, just stomped past me, the joints of his power armor screaming as metal ground on metal. I followed him silently, through the destruction toward a badly beaten up Knight Taylor.

He was kneeling, his helmet gone, revealing his shaggy brown hair plastered to his face with sweat. His eyes seemed glazed and distant and I rushed to his side, pulling out several stimpaks, looking at Danse over my shoulder "What happened to Taylor" the words were rushed and panicked as I spoke them.

Danse only narrowed his eyes "I told you not to leave us, that it was safer to go as a team but you never listen. We were discovered while you were scouting the area and overwhelmed. We survived thanks to our power armor but Knight Taylor has suffered a concussion and several lacerations, we won't know the full extent of his injuries until we return to the Prydwen"

I felt a crushing guilt that it was partially my fault that Taylor was hurt, my icy blue eyes locked onto his face, he was staring off into space, clearly dazed, he had a bad gash over his right eye and blood was still trickling down his face. I put my palms on either side of his face leaning down in front of him "Taylor, can you hear me, I need you to release the seal on your power armor"

His eyes flicked over my own and he licked his lips, nodding he tried speaking but his speech was slurred.

"What are you doing, we are still in a hostile environment Knight, he can't leave his power armor until we clear the building" Danse was practically hissing at me and whirled on him my eyes burning

"Shut up Danse, I need to get him out and check his injuries, he could bleed to death before we get him out of here, now are you going to help me with him or not"

Danse's scowl deepened and he turned blocking the doorway with his power armor and released the seals stepping down. I suppressed a smirk and turned to watch Taylor open his power armor and slink down to the floor, in a heap. I rushed to his side and caught him before his head could hit the floor. He was heavy and my wounded side was flaring up at the uneven weight distribution. I dropped to my knees and lowered his head down as gently as possible. "Okay Listen to me Taylor, I need you to try and answer some questions for me okay" I said smiling down at him, he flicked his eyes towards my face

"Okay Lex" he mumbled

"Okay, where are we big guy" I asked while slowly patting down his extremities checking for breaks or wounds. Danse was beside me, also kneeling injecting a stimpak into Taylor's thigh. I patted down his side and frowned when my hand came away slick with blood, I stopped and dug into my bag for something to suture the wound closed. _Dammit I don't have, anything….wait bingo._ I pulled out a bottle of wonderglue and flicked my eyes back up to Taylor who was mumbling.

"We are at Fort Strong, I can smell the mutant shit from here" he laughed, his whole body convulsing as he coughed, little droplets of blood decorating his chin.

"You bet we are, and I know I can smell it too" I chuckled "Okay what year is it?" I asked gesturing towards a confused Danse to help me roll, the Knight onto his opposite side. Taylor was bleeding heavily from a nasty looking gouge, the orange brotherhood suit frayed and blooded, little fibers stuck inside the torn muscles. I winced and turned to Danse "Get me a bottle of purified water, alcohol and the cleanest cloth you can find". He nodded and left my side going to his power armor grabbing my small list of items.

"Wait so you're a scribe now" Taylor chuckled, making himself wheeze.

I snorted "Hardly, a studied to be a nurse once….but that was a long time ago" I felt my face fall and I wanted to change subjects "This is going to hurt, so bite down on something when I say so okay"

He nodded and I took out my combat knife, wiping off as much mutant blood as I could across my orange jump suit, before slicing open the side of his uniform. Danse placed the bottle of alcohol and purified water beside me and I took them giving him a small smile. I took the cloth from him and rolled it into a tight roll, placing it in front of Taylor's face. "Okay Knight, bite down on that please". He grunted and put the tightly rolled cloth into his mouth with one hand, I waited until he was finished before pouring straight vodka onto his open wound. He screamed through the cloth and his eyes watered, he bucked thrashing around but Danse held him down for me. "Sorry I know it hurts like a bitch but I need to disinfect it" I felt bad for the man but I didn't have anything else to clean it and in this dirty crumbling building surrounded by dead mutants I didn't want to risk infection. I pulled out as much visible debris as I could and splashed it with alcohol again mumbling an apology. I poured the purified water over it when I was finished to sooth the skin and pulled it together. "Okay Taylor, I don't have anything to stitch this closed properly, so what I'm about to do is only going to last temporarily but it'll stop you from bleeding out, understand"

"What are you doing Knight" it was Danse's voice, and my eyes flicked towards him "It's an old pre-war trick, you can use superglue to close a wound for a short time. I'm not comparing myself to Cade, but this should help until then" I was surprised when he didn't argue, and I didn't wait for his permission I pinched Taylor's skin together as tightly as I could manage and applied a generous amount of wonderglue. It worked well enough and held the skin together the bleeding reduced to a small trickle. I took the bandage from Taylor's mouth and applied it over the wound, using another I had found in my bag I wrapped his torso tightly. I injected him with another stimpak and told him to relax, while the stims kicked in.

I rocked backwards on my heels and stood up satisfied with my first aid and turned to Danse "I don't think knight Taylor should accompany us further, there's a small room adjacent to us filled with old office supplies that will offer suitable cover until we finish the mission"

Danse agreed to my surprise, and I turned facing a now quiet Taylor. He was laying down his hands folded over his chest, eyes slightly closed. I shuffled on the balls of my feet, leaning forward to look at his face, his skin was slick with sweat but his cheeks were tinged a healthy pink. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

He grunted and smiled, his teeth bloodied "I feel like shit, but I'll live. Thanks Lex"

I smiled "Don't thank me yet, I still need you to move into cover while we finish off the rest of these bastards"

He flicked open one eye, it sparkled with mischief "Carry me". I laughed aloud and patted him lightly on the shoulder "Last I checked your legs were broken Knight, but I can always ask Danse if he'd volunteer"

He opened both eyes and scanned the room eventually finding the Paladin back inside his power armor a ghost of a smile on his face. I stood up and brushed my knees off, wincing as my side burned and I sucked in a breath, exhaling slowly. Danse noticed my discomfort and I turned hiding my face, I didn't need him worrying about me, we had enough to worry about already. I offered my hand to Taylor and helped him to his feet, letting him lean on me as I led him back towards the small office area in the back of the ruined building. I let go of him, leaning him against a filing cabinet and turned moving away some trash to create a suitable area for him to lean down, behind a large old desk. He smirked at me when I returned and helped him sit down "You don't have to baby me Lex, I'll be okay"

I smiled sheepishly and shrugged my shoulders "I know but I can't help but feel this is all my fault, least I can do is make sure you'll be okay"

I left him then, hunkered down behind a desk, in the back of the building surrounded by trash bins, papers, and old furniture, a laser rifle, stimpak and a can of purified water at his side.

…..

I made my way back to Danse, who was standing beside Taylor's discarded suit of power armor. I cringed when I inspected the full damage to the suit, it was littered with bullet holes and gashes from the mutants. The helmet was gone, probably mangled, and one of the arms was completing missing the metal plating. I walked around it trailing my fingers against the cool metal, I stopped when I reached the side and frowned. Between the metal plating, the flexible plastic had been torn away, revealing the inside of the suit. It was in bad shape, the suits helmet was destroyed which made it difficult for relatively new users such as myself to operate it, unable to determine what was damaged and unusable with the HUD. I stepped around the frame and looked at Danse "What should we do with it?"

He frowned and stepped up beside the armor, his hand reaching the partially destroyed torso and pulling on the exposed tubing, the metal of his fingers wet with a dark oily substance "The hydraulics are damaged, the suit won't move properly without them. The metal plating is also missing on one arm, and while it would offer better protection that what you are currently equipped with the suit is not fitted to your frame. We will pull the fusion core and leave it here. Ingram can repair it when we return to the airport"

I reached up and grabbed onto one of the metal handles along the back of the suit and pulled myself up, balancing on the legs of the power armor I grabbed onto the fusion core and twisted pulling it free. The suit powered down as if I sucked the life out of it, and I hoped down, stuffing the core into my pack. I patted myself down, ensuring I was ready to continue on, and gave Danse thumbs up, a toothy grin on my face. "Ready let's go finish this, there was an elevator down the hall, I think it leads to a basement"

He grunted and followed me as I lead him towards the flickering light at the end of the hall, that was illuminating the empty elevator. I stepped inside and gestured for him to follow me, it was a tight squeeze my body pressed tightly to the back wall. I reached and pressed the down button, holding my breath, so many of the prewar elevators didn't work anymore and I prayed this one would prove me wrong. The button clicked but nothing happened and I frowned, pressing on it again with a little more force. _C'mon work you stupid machine._ Danse shuffled awkwardly in the small space looking down at me "Are you sure this machine works properly"

I rolled my eyes and grunted at him "No Danse I have no idea, why don't we just call a repair man to come fix it for us" I slammed on the button furiously, the clicking the only sound between us, until the door suddenly dinged and I almost cried from joy. The doors slowly closed and the down button light up like a Christmas tree, terrible elevator music pouring from the speakers. _Ha, there we go!_ The ride down was quiet and I held my breath as light from each level passed by until the door pinged and opened. I stepped out into a small lobby that was in terrible disrepair much like the rest of the building. The tiled floor was ripped up in some places, leaving patches of bare cement, the walls were decorated with dusty torn paintings and boxes of old musty papers were tossed around, haphazardly. A tattered red couch sat in the corner, the cushions ripped apart revealing rusty springs and yellow smoke-stained stuffing. A small table was overturned beside it, one of the legs missing the once white paint chipped and in bad need of a touch up. And of course, there was blood and gore, coupled with trash littered all over the floor. I snorted and blew out a breath, covering my nose with my forearm. The smell was different than that of upstairs, somehow even more offensive, it was rancid and made my eyes water. Imagine a piece of meat left out in the hot sun, until it turned that terrible shiny metallic color and then add a hint of mildew, and a splash of terrible alcohol perfume your grandma used to wear. That, that was what I smelt and it made my stomach knot up. Danse moved behind me and started down the hall, clearly not as disturbed by the new smell as I was, but I suppose the smell of death and decay are all too familiar with a soldier.

We moved down a narrow hallway towards an open room and Danse held up a hand and dropped down, into a crouched position. I wanted to snicker at how ridiculous he looked, but I didn't want to alert any potential hostiles to our position.

"Stay alert Knight, we are going to be out in the open, watch your six" he said his voice was serious and I nodded.

The next room was open, and the smell of rotting meat only grew more intense as crossed the threshold. From the ceiling hung several bloodied meat bags, suspended on massive rusty metal hooks. There was blood and bones scattered all over the tile flooring and several shopping carts were parked off to the side of the room, full of raw, hacked up meat like a demented buffet waiting for new customers. In the middle of the room was some sort of machine, it looked to be a power supply of some kind. Just beyond that lay a door and sitting there was a massive muscled mutant hound. I felt my breath hitch and I subconsciously reached for my combat knife strapped to my thigh. I felt something heavy settle on my shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my skin, my hand flying up to my mouth to muffle my panic. I looked over my shoulder to see Danse, stare down at me his face was unreadable but his eyes blazed with unbridled fury "Let's put these filthy abominations down together Knight"

I smiled and reached behind me pulling down my rifle "with pleasure sir". I took a deep breath and fired a single shot into the head of the sleeping mutant hound across the room from us. Its head exploded in a shower of blood and brain matter and I clenched my teeth smiling. As soon as I fired my bullet, Danse jumped up and began firing his laser rifle

"For the Brotherhood" he bellowed and I found myself following suit, I roared our battle cry and stood up shooting down an adjacent hallway toward a small grouping of three super mutants. The mutants came rushing into the open room, using support beams as basic cover and I rolled out of the way as bullets flew towards me. I had a height advantage over the entire battle scene unfolding and I used it to my advantage. I knew my rifle had far better firepower and superior range over their pipe pistols and I hunkered down, taking aim from the backlines while Danse rained down laser fire from the front. He was using his body as some sort of makeshift shield for me while I tried to take down the mutants before they could reach the staircase, and it was working until I heard the deep wail of another mutant hound. Danse must have heard it too, because he turned and lunged at the hound as it came rushing up the staircase straight towards me. _Why me, why do these fuckers go straight for me every time._ I stood up and ran to the edge of the balcony, forfeiting my own safety I needed to help Danse, take out these mutants while he struggled with a massive mutant hound. I pulled out my stolen pipe pistol and fire down at the mutties, trying to offer as much suppressing fire as I could, while Danse killed the hound. I shuddered remembering the huge yellow teeth and the burn of the saliva as the hound torn at my arm, no I definitely couldn't let that happen to Danse. I turned and saw him wrestling with the big green monster and my nostrils flared with anger. The hound had his forearm in its massive jaw, and I could hear the grinding of metal as it thrashed around wildly. Its back was facing me and I rushed towards it, unbuckling my combat knife. I jumped and brought the blade down with all my might right on the fucker's spine, not giving it a moment to react I pulled the blade out and stabbed it right in the side between its ribs. It howled in pain and released the Paladin, thrashing around wilding to rid itself of the knife embedded deep in its knotted green flesh. I wouldn't give it the satisfaction my adrenaline was pumping, my anger peaked and I held tight to the knife, riding its massive back like a bucking bull. I wrapped my legs around its middle and pulled the knife out, stabbing repeatedly, my hands were slick from its blood and I cut open my palm with my knife when I slipped. It burned terribly and I clenched my teeth, releasing my blade. It was all the hound needed and it bucked throwing me off its back, I hit the ground and rolled griping thin air for my knife. The hound whirled on me and rushed me, its blood creating a slick sheen on the dirty floor. I tucked and rolled out of the way trying to use the broken furniture to aid my escape. The hound latched onto my foot to quickly and I screamed out in pain as its powerful jaws crushed my ankle. It torn through my leather boot, its teeth sawing through it like butter and ripped open my skin. The pain was dizzying as I kicked the murderous beast in the face with my other boot as hard as I could. It would not stop its relentless assault and I knew I was in trouble. I could see my combat knife jutting out of its back and I realized that my only chance was getting the blade back. I pulled my knees to my chest, thus earning more furious bites to my leg still clutched in the jaws of the hound as it clawed up my body. My fingertips brushed the handle of the blade and I yanked it free through my tears. I stabbed the hound in the top of the skull and pressed with all my might. Its jaw went slack and I tore my tattered leg from its mouth.

I didn't want to look at my leg, I didn't want to see how bad it was. I didn't want to be here anymore I could feel the tears pouring down my cheeks, hot and wet. My eyes flicked toward my pipboy strapped to my wrist. There it was again, reality, a cruel bitch. I was dying, the pipboy flashing as its legs disappeared, the Geiger counter was also jumping wildly as I absorbed more and more radiation. My vison was blurry and I couldn't feel my leg, it was numbed and heavy I reached into my pocket and pulled out its contents feeling aimlessly for the tiny syringe that would save me. I found it, through my tears and injected myself straight into the torn calf muscles. I checked my pipboy and cringed, I was still in bad shape but I needed to help Danse, needed to get out of this fucking armory. I found another syringe, it was different from the stimpak, triple barrel and labelled psychobuff. I couldn't remember where I had gotten from and didn't care, I knew it was popular among raiders for its incredible psycho active effects, increased strength, and damage resistance. I stabbed myself in the thigh and waited for the drug to take effect. It was almost immediate and I burst up, my heart racing my anger skyrocketing at our situation and I felt the overwhelming rush of adrenaline, of raw power.

"For the Brotherhood" I roared rushing towards the balcony, combat knife in hand.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Danse POV

 _She was crazed, murderous, inspirational…. unstoppable_. I knew something was wrong the minute she came rushing towards me, then suddenly past me, taking the steps leading down into the super mutant hive, in leaps and bounds complete disregard for her own safety. She was rushing toward a mutant with nothing but her combat knife and I knew she was in trouble. The mutant saw her coming and moved out in the open to cut her down as she charged it, like a deranged brahmin. I felt my breath hitch and I called out to her to stop, to take cover, but she didn't even flinch as if she didn't hear me at all. I watched as if in slow motion as the mutant opened fire at her, she was too quick for the abominations terrible aim. She dived behind cover, the bullets echoing off the metal support beams, and I snapped out of my stupor. She didn't even pause to re-evaluate her battle tactics, just burst from her hiding place the minute the bullets stopped, rushing towards it, blade unsheathed. She lunged at its exposed legs, slashing through its ankle. The mutant roared and tried to stomp her to death as she rolled and plunged the combat knife into its knotted flesh, over and over.

I couldn't move, I couldn't breath as I watched the scene unfold, I am a trained brotherhood of steel Paladin, I've been taught to deal with multiple battle outcomes, but watching a friend dive into battle head first, the possibility of her death was real and It paralyzed me. it was surreal seeing her, a small seemingly fragile woman clad in boiled leather armor fight a super mutant three times her size with nothing but a combat knife. She was fast, much faster than the mutant and in close combat it couldn't use its pistol, it tried crushing her, beating her with its fists; but with every failed attempt at injuring her, she would lash out and stab it again. Eventually the mutant became sluggish and slowed, it was wheezing covered in its own blood, and dropped to its knees. She stood before it and plunged her knife deep into its thick skull and I felt a sick satisfaction that she enjoyed killing mutants as much as I did.

Movement down the hall brought my attention back to the present fight and I watched as a mutant carrying a large board as a weapon came rushing up behind her. I raised my laser rifle and shot it down before it could even raise its weapon above its head, its body falling in a heap of smoking flesh at her feet. She turned then and looked at me, and I noticed for the first time that her pupils were so enlarged they almost completely covered her icy blue irises. I didn't have time to evaluate the possible reasons for her odd behavior or appearance because the moment I went to open my mouth and speak to her, I heard the telltale sound of a missile being fired. My eyes locked onto her own and she smiled at me, her teeth stained with blood and her eyes clouding over as the missile sailed straight towards her.

"Alexis…No"

…

Alexis POV

I feel something hovering over me and I flicker my eyelashes trying to pry my eyes open. There is a burning pain in my side and I feel like I can't breathe, a heavy weight is settled on my chest, crushing the air out of my lungs. I panic and twitch my fingers willing myself to move to sit up to save myself. There is something solid beneath me, it's rough and damp as my fingers brush against it. I drag my hands closer to my sides and I wince when something warm and sticky coats my fingers, the closer I bring my hands to my body the more my hands slip through the substance. Its blood I can smell it in the air and based off how I'm feeling its likely mine, I can taste it a metallic, lingering on my tongue. I want to open my eyes and see if Danse is okay, if Taylor is still waiting for our return but I'm so weak I can't move and it's hard to focus. Suddenly I'm being picked up, something solid is slipping under my shoulders and I feel my head loll back, I'm so weak I can't hold it up. I hear myself scream out pain, my sides burning my lungs feel like they are collapsed. Something is carrying me I can feel the jolting of eat footstep and I try desperately to open my eyes, they flutter open and I can make out a blurred image of a man. I _ts Danse it has to be_ I open my mouth to speak, my throat is so dry that it comes out in a whimper.

"Danse" I mutter trying to blink back the pain and focus on his warm brown eyes.

The form moves and I'm clutched tighter to him, my skin feels cool where it meets the metal of his power armor.

"It's going to be okay Allore, the vertibirds are coming"

I feel my mind slowly slip back into unconsciousness, my eyelids heavy. Something warm is trickling down my face and it brushes against my lip. I smack my dry lips and taste blood; my eyes find his and I try to smile the effort paining me. His eyes are wild and panicked and I notice for the first time his hood is gone, I'm surprised to see thick black hair on his head, it looks soft and I want to run my fingers through it. I bring my hand up and place it against the stubble on his face running it up into his hair. It's soft and I smile weakly

"loose the hood Paladin, the ladies will thank you trust me" I cough and splatter blood on his chest plate.

I think he tried to smile at me and I hear a choked laugh, his eyes are intense a sea of emotion and he shakes his head slowly "I'm sorry Allore, I should have stopped the mutant"

His voice was low and husky and I placed my bloodied hand on his chest plate, smearing the brotherhood insignia in the process "No, it's my fault….shouldn't have….." my voice is barely above a whisper now, and I feel myself slipping my eyes closing.

He shakes me hard and I briefly open my eyes to see his warm chocolate eyes begin to water slightly his voice is panicked

"Knight Allore"

More shaking, I want to open my eyes I want to stay alive, I want to tell him not to blame himself for anything but more than anything I want to sleep. Somewhere in the distance I can hear the hum of a vertibird, the air disturbance from its rotors, the roar of its engine. The last thing I hear before my world plunges into darkness is his voice, it sounds different, an echo of its rich deep rumble.

"Alexis"

….

I wake up to something cold, so cold it burns my lungs when I take a breath. I twitch my fingers and suck in a breath when I feel ice brush against my fingertips. I'm standing up, and something is surrounding me, I try to wiggle my toes but I can't move my feet. I'm panicking, _why can't I move, where am I._ my eyes are closed and I struggle to open them, it feels like they are glued shut. I can hear a hissing sound, it sounds distorted like it's coming from far away. I pry my eyes open and blink trying to focus, something is in front of me, my hands come up to investigate and come into contact with something cold and hard. Its blurry and I rub my hands over it to wiping away frost, my breath comes in panicked gasps. Its glass, cold glass and suddenly I know where I am. my hands drop and shoot out to my sides to be greeted by cold metal, my warmer fingers sticking to the freezing metal pulling off a thin layer of skin when I rip them away, fresh tears spilling down my cheeks. I'm inside my cryopod, I'm back inside my prison, back at the very place that was supposed to save my family from the nuclear bombs, the place that destroyed me. I cry out in pent up anger and sadness pounding my fists against the glass. _What's happening to me, why am I here, what happened to Danse._ My vision is completed obscured as I continue to cry into the emptiness of the pod, my screams and pleas falling on deaf ears. I pound on the glass until my hands are bloodied and I close my eyes screaming out.

"Why god, why have you abandoned me"

Something echoes out in the silence and I strain my ears to pick up the sound, footsteps coming this way. I rub my palms over the frosted glass, desperately trying to clean it, trying to see what was happening. Finally, the heat from my hands melts away the thin layer of frost and ice and I pinch my eyes shut hard.

"No, no, no, no, no" I cry out, hot tears spilling down my cheeks as I shake my head.

Its Nate, it's my husband he's across from me, he's inside his pod and he's holding my baby boy. He's awake and he looks confused and scared. I open my eyes and stare as two people approach his pod a woman dressed in a decontamination suit and that fucker Kellogg. I know what's going to happen, I have heard the shot a hundred times in my nightmares and I wrap my arms around myself and cry out. I can't watch I can't see his eyes desperately lock onto mine, I can't watch them steal my son away, take my husband's life. I cover my ears with my hands and close my eyes tight rocking back and forth as I cry out his name.

The shot, the shot that pierced my heart and tore my world asunder rings out in the silence and I can't do anything about it, I can never do anything about it. I rest my forehead against the cool glass my tears dripping off my nose and I look up just as Nate's pod closes again his lifeless form laying inside.

"I'm sorry Nate" I wail and begin rocking back and forth as the lights flicker off and I'm left in complete darkness. The hissing of the pod and my sobs the only sounds echoing through the vault.

Suddenly a blinding white light shines through the observation window of my pod and I groan covering my eyes, I can hear the door hiss open and I feel weightless something is pulling me forward pulling me into the light.

….

I flutter my eyes open a harsh light is shining in my face and I'm staring at a metal ceiling. I groan and try to sit up my head is spinning, my head lands on a soft pillow. I realize I'm laying down on something soft, like cot of some sorts there is medical equipment on the walls and it dons on me that I'm lying in the medical bay aboard the Prydwen. I lift my head up and suck in a breath, I cant see out of my right eye, my hand hovers in front of my face and I let out a strained whimper when my fingers brush against a cotton bandage.

"It's alright knight you haven't lost your vision"

My head turns around and I see Cade standing beside my bed, he's smiling at me a medical chart in his hands. I smile weakly at him nodding my head slowly "I trust you doc".

"In fact If you'd like I can remove the bandage, I believe your wound is fully healed" he says setting the medical chart down on a metal cart beside my bed, I turn my head and look at it. it has a medical tray with several instruments sitting atop it. There is a can of purified water and some med-x and stimpaks beside the tray. Suddenly my mouth is very dry and I smack my lips.

"I'd like some water please" my voice is harsh and gravely and I cringe when I push up on my elbows, it feels like id been running a marathon my muscles weak and screaming at me to stop.

"Of course, dehydration is a side effect of the medication I have been giving you. So please help yourself" He says helping me sit up. My eyes flicker down the bed to look at my legs, under a thin white sheet and I let out a sigh. _Thank god both my legs are there_. I try wiggling my toes and almost cry when I see movement from both feet under the sheet. Cade is watching me I can see him through the corner of my eye, a smile on his face.

"Here you are knight" he says handing me the can of water.

I nod my head in thanks and greedily chug the water, its warm but radiation free and it tastes like the best thing in the world in that moment. I was so thirsty and my throat was raw so the water was both refreshing and soothing, I felt revitalized. I turn and smile my thanks at Cade, who is inspecting the bandage over my eye, his fingers gentle and nimble as he slowly pulls back at the edge of the bandage looking at my wound. He smiles satisfied and starts to remove it, when he's finished I blink several times adjusting to the light and breathe a sigh of relief when I can see fully.

He steps back and collects his medical cart, mumbling to himself as he fills it out. I gingerly touch my face and brush my fingertips along my cheek towards my eye. I frown when I touch slightly raised skin and run my finger along the length of a smooth scar.

"How bad is it?" I ask hesitantly running my fingers over my scar, trying to imagine the hideous disfigurement I have pictured in my head.

Cade looks up from his cart and smirks at me "If you are referring to the scar its impressive"

I frown, I wouldn't consider scars impressive "Impressive?" I ask confused.

Cade laughs lightly "Yes, I know it might sound strange to someone such as yourself, but here in the brotherhood scars are sort of like battle trophies. The more impressive the more interesting the story"

"Do I look ugly…..I know it might sound conceded but I've never had a scar in my life and especially not on my face" I cover my right eye with my palm and look down, I wish I had a mirror.

Cade actually laughs at me and I look up at him shocked "No, not to worry knight you are not ugly, as I said scars are trophies of sorts in the brotherhood, if anything it'll earn you some respect"

I nod my head, rubbing my cheek before letting my hand fall. I notice that I'm dressed in a light blue hospital gown of sorts and my long hair is tumbling down my shoulders. It's matted and dull and I run my fingers through it. _Okay I serious need to shower, not my finest moments at least Taylor isn't here to poke fun at me. OH god Taylor, Danse are they okay._

"Are Danse and Taylor okay?" I ask jumping up in bed, hissing in pain when my side burns and spasms. I cringe and clench my eyes falling back in bed.

Cade sighs and steps to the edge of my bed, lifting up the edge of my bedsheet as he talks "Paladin Danse suffered from a ruptured ear drum and several lacerations, but no to worry he was released from the infirmary several days ago. Knight Taylor was a little worse for wear but thanks to your efforts at Fort Strong he was able to make a full recovery as well."

He was inspecting my side and I hissed in pain as his fingers pressed lightly against my ribs "You on the other hand suffered from more serious injuries" he looked up into my eyes and frowned "you are lucky to be alive knight, you have a broken leg, three broken ribs and a mild concussion. When the Paladin brought you to the infirmary, you were bleeding internally it was a miracle you survived at all." his face was grim and I frowned.

"How did I survive at all" I said in a huff, throwing my head down on the pillow. It was more of a rhetorical question rather than a question directed at Cade but he answered me anyways.

"The chemical substance you injected yourself with that's how knight. While it improves your overall physical strength and endurance it has terrible psychoactive effects, making the user irritable and unstable" he said his normally warm eyes and friendly smile completely missing from his face, he was serious and I receded further into the pillow.

"I know it was stupid, but I didn't know what to do, Danse needed my help and I was dying. It seemed like a good idea at the time" I said a little defeated and ashamed of myself.

Cade grunted and stood up straight turning and grabbing a syringe of Med-X and a stimpak "The brotherhood doesn't condone the use of chems"

I watched him turn and pull up the sleeve of my hospital gown and I shook my head at him "No please, no more drugs, I'd like to get up if I could"

Cade rose a brow at me and placed the drugs on the medal surgical tray at the bedside "Are you sure, it'll help with the pain and let you sleep"

I snorted and shook my head "I'm sure, I think I've been sleeping long enough"

He sighed "Very well"

I smiled at him "Thank you Knight-Captain Cade"

He smiled "You're welcome Knight"

I took a deep breath and pulled the bedsheet back, just as June walks in a bright smile on her face, her blond hair bouncing with each step. I smile at her and notice that someone is behind her, my eyes widen and I want to cry its Knight Taylor. I go to get up and almost fall flat on my face, June lunges forward and grabs onto me, scooping me under the shoulders and places me back on the bed.

Taylor is laughing as he steps into the door "Smooth Lex, I'm glad to see you awake and back on your feet…..almost"

I roll my eyes at him but am unable to stop smiling, I am so happy that he's okay "Taylor, June I'm so glad to see you. How are you feeling"

June sits beside me on the bed and pats my leg, her blue eyes are sparkling "I'm fine, I was worried about you, Taylor here is fine too. Back to his old pain in the ass self"

Taylor smiles smugly "Yep. Thanks again for patching me up Cade"

I cross my arms and pout at him "Thanks I helped too"

He turns his head and looks at me "Oh yes how could I forget, thank you Lex oh mighty savior"

I snort and roll my eyes again "Oh piss off, I was actually worried about you"

He smiles at me sincererly "I know you were, we were worried about you Lex you've been out for almost a week"

"A week" I squeak out, jumping up again alarmed

Cade laughs lightly behind me and I turn to look over my shoulder at him "Would it be alright if I went down to the showers, I'd feel better if I was clean"

He shrugs his shoulders lightly "I don't see why not, just try to keep your cast as dry as possible"

My eyes flicker down to my leg and my eyes widen in surprise "My cast, how long do I have to wear this" I can see my toes poking out the end of the cast. It covers the top of my foot, my ankle and stops just below my knee.

"You should be fit for duty in about another week or so" he says.

I cover my face in my hands and shudder "Scars, broken limbs, dammit I'm going to be gristly old monster soon"

I can hear laughter and it only furthers to sour my mood "Grisly old monster my ass, you look fine Lex" its June's voice, calm and caring and I sniff feeling stupid for being so childish.

"Scars are sexy" its Taylor and he's smirking at me, his green eyes sparkling with mischief

I smile weakly at him "Thanks, I guess it's not too bad right" I say running my hand down my face.

He laughs at I cock my head at him narrowing my eyes "What is so funny"

"I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about Me" he says pointing to himself.

"Oh jeez thanks so much, you really know how to make a girl feel special" I snort, standing up with the help of June.

I turn and look over my shoulder making sure the gown is fully closed before closing my eyes and taking a deep breath "Okay let's get out of here; would you mind helping me down to my bunk June"

she smiles and nods "Of course, I don't have to report to the flight deck for another forty minutes"

I take a hesitate step leaning some of my weight on June as she leads me out of the medical bay, I turn and look over my shoulder at Cade before we leave "Thanks Cade, I appreciate you patching me up"

He smiles at me, looking up from a terminal at his desk "You're welcome Knight" he looks back down at his terminal, his fingers clicking away before he remembers something and looks back up at me "Knight Allore"

I turn and cock my head at him "Yes Cade?"

He smiles at me sheepishly for a brief moment his eyes sparkling with curiosity "I was curious, did you study medicine before the war. I've never seen wonderglue used as a suture before in my medial career"

I shrug my shoulders and smile weakly "I did once, but that was a long time ago"

He moves away from his terminal and leans his elbows against his desk his face curious "If you wouldn't mind I'd love to hear about it, your knowledge of pre-war medicine could be invaluable"

I smile at his almost boyish excitement "Of course Cade"

He smiles broadly and straightens up, clearing his throat "Thank you knight, if you ever need medical attention you let me know"

….

June and Taylor help me down to the lower deck of the Prydwen towards the knight's quarters. We talk for a few minutes before Taylor tells us he has to leave, he's helping Quinlan today escorting scribes for tech retrieval. I give him a tight hug before he leaves and wave him off, June standing beside me. As soon as he's gone I turn and push open the door to my bunk, half dragging myself to my bed. June follows me in and I can hear her shuffling back and forth waiting for me to say something.

"Thanks June, now I need to pick out something to wear, if I'm going to be stuck on the Prydwen for days might as well wear something comfortable" I say looking down at the trunk across from my bed, mentally going through all my clothes in my head, trying to decide what would be appropriate given my new condition.

"You can't wear your flight suit, it was destroyed, you'll have to get a new one from Proctor Tegan" she said shrugging her shoulders.

I snort and cover my mouth "Oh gods no, not my favorite orange space suit"

She giggles and shakes her head slightly "Okay, so no uniform. What do you suggest"

I tap my finger on my chin and smile devilishly "I think I have the perfect thing"

She narrows her eyes at me and crosses her arm over her chest "Is it appropriate to be wearing on the Prydwen?"

I laugh and wave her off "Ah relax, it's just a simple dress is all, can't exactly wear pants with this on my leg" I said tapping my knuckles on the plaster cast.

She sighs "Okay let me help you get cleaned up"

I smile triumphantly "Perfect, it's the blue one"

…

June had helped me pick out my clothes and even helped me up the stairs to get to the bathroom. She set my things down and left me to clean myself up, and I thanked her for her help agreeing to hang out later when she finished her guard shift.

The shower was the difficult part, trying to keep my leg dry and wash my hair at the same time. I decided that sitting down on the tile floor was the smartest course of action and I swear I spent my entire hot water ration for the week while I was in there. I washed my hair with the soap I found in sanctuary and scrubbed the dried blood and bits of dirt off my sore body. Satisfied I was totally clean I turned off the water and toweled myself off. I was alone in the bathroom and decided to take advantage of it, I went to my things and flicked on my pipboy tuning the radio to diamond city radio singing along as I dried my hair.

I pulled the blue denim dress over my head and fastened the buttons at the collar leaving a few undone. It was sweltering hot on the Prydwen most days and I am glade to wear something other than the hot flight suit. I brushed out my long dark hair and rubbed a small amount of perfume I had discovered unscathed and unopened in my old house at Sanctuary Hills, on my neck. It smelled slightly of alcohol due to its age, but had a pleasant vanilla aroma. I put it back inside my bag and pulled out what little makeup I had left, finishing my overall look. I smiled at myself in the mirror and fixed my hair in place twisting my bangs into a roll and pinning some back behind my ear, the majority falling around my shoulders and down my back. I fixed the leather belt under my bust and took a deep breath, putting away all my things, leaving the bathroom.

…

It was difficult walking around with a broken ankle, each step had to be calculated and I was already getting tired as I walked toward the front of the Prydwen towards the mess hall. I could feel all eyes on me and hear the whispering as I passed by. Someone wolf whistled at me and I laughed lightly to myself. I suppose my attire was strange for brotherhood soldiers, coupled with my long hair and smoky eye. I came to a set of metal stairs and cringed. I had forgotten that I was only able to get up the stairs thanks to June's help. _Okay you can do this, it's not so bad one step at a time Lex_. I counted the metal steps in my head and clutched onto the railing for dear life as I slowly made my way down. I was out of breath when I reached the bottom and my knuckles were white from gripping the bars so hard, but I smiled triumphantly at my success.

I turned around the corner and went to head into the mess hall when a thought occurred to me. I didn't know where the Paladin was and I didn't know if he was able to give Maxson a full report on what happened at Fort Strong. I turned and made my way to the circular stairs that lead down to the command deck. I frowned and peered over the edge, I could see the floor below and I counted only eight steps. I took a deep breath and moved over the edge of the stairs, one foot on each step. It was entirely different going straight down then at an angle and as soon as my injured leg was required to support my full body weight I felt my knee buckle and I squeaked out in pain. My hands slipped and I was falling straight down towards the metal command deck below. I clenched my eyes shut and held my breath, it was going to hurt and I braced myself for the impact, hoping Knight-Captain Cade wasn't busy.

I hit something solid, and warm and I could smell leather, power armor grease and something distinctly masculine. I heard a slight humph and the expulsion of air as my savior caught me and brought me to their chest. I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment and I dared not open my eyes.

 _Please be Danse, please be Danse, please be Danse_

"Knight Allore, are you alright" the voice was deep and smooth, each word rumbling in his chest and I blushed harder.

 _Dammit not Danse_

I opened my eyes and found myself staring up at the Elder of the brotherhood of steel, his arms wrapped around me, cradling me against his chest. His blue eyes bore into my own, but his face remained a mask of indifference. I swallowed hard trying to find my voice, unable to tear my eyes away from his.

"Now I am" I said cheekily

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Elder Maxson POV

 _Mornings, mornings meant endless paperwork, meetings with the Proctors and ignoring the worshiping stares and whispers as I walked through the Prydwen._ I was already tired and it was only 1100, I inhaled heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I was sitting at my desk in my private quarters replying to the endless stream of emails sent to me by my staff _. Approve this, approve that, we need this for the Prydwen, we are running out of this, this initiate did this or that, tell scribe Neriah that the Prydwen isn't the place for wild animals._ I click off the terminal and spin around facing my empty quarters, it's a little depressing being cooped up inside my quarters most of the morning by myself. Not that any of my staff really take the time to talk to me, it's like I'm god and that speaking to me results in instant death _. Reminds me of the cults that popped up on the West Coast, that worshiped me like I was the savior of the people_. Thinking about it leaves a sour taste in my mouth, I want my brothers and sisters to respect me not cower before me, I might be a Maxson but I'm still a man.

One of the only people that is comfortable talking to me is Paladin Danse, we've known each other for years and have grown to be good friends. Another is Quinlan but he only wishes to learn more about my past for the book he wants published about me which I strictly forbid him writing. I yawn and reach for the cup beside my terminal, lifting it I realize its empty and I frown darkly at the bottom of the mug. _Coffee that is what this morning needs, and sunshine spilling through the windows of the command deck._ I get up and stretch my sore shoulders, I never liked sitting in one place, no one accomplished anything sitting around and the institute was still out there. I pulled on my leather battlecoat and made for the door of my quarters, pulling it open. I strode towards the command deck and stopped to stand in front of the massive glass windows. It was nice outside, no rad storms or rain which was unusual for the commonwealth. I peered down at the airport below and frowned, I could see a vertibird docked on a landing pad the small figures of knights and scribes scurrying around.

I rest my hands on the railings in front of me and heard the clink of the coffee mug I was still holding onto. I sighed and turned around headed for the stairs to the main deck to get it myself when a scribe stopped me, she was staring at me doe eyed, her eyes flicking down from my face to the empty cup and I felt my nerves fraying.

"Can I get you something sir" she asked smiling a little to brightly

I wanted to roll my eyes at her but I remained a mask of indifference, I held the cup out towards her "Coffee soldier"

She eagerly took it from me and bounded up the steps towards the mess hall with a little too much enthusiasm. I knew if I didn't let her run the smallest of errands for me, she would continue to stare at me and insist until I eventually gave in. I turned and made my way back to my favorite spot on the command deck, arms held behind my back, shoulders squared, a complete authoritative look on my face.

"Elder Maxson, Proctor Tegan needs to speak with you sir" it was a male voice.

I turn and look over my shoulder at the knight and nod my head suppressing a sigh "Thank you Knight" he's still standing there watching me expectantly I want to roll my eyes "Dismissed"

He salutes and turns on his heel walking away and ascends the stairs to the main deck. I'm alone again and I sigh exasperated running my hand through my short-cropped hair. _I guess the coffee will have to wait until I'm finished speaking with Tegan_. I start to move towards the stairs to the main deck but stop when hear someone struggling to get down, curious I step up to them and am awarded with a heap of young woman falling towards me. I react quickly and catch her trying to stop her from hitting the metal flooring. For a brief moment, I have no idea who I'm holding onto my eyes flicking over her, landing on her face. _Knight Allore?_ She looks different, she's wearing a blue dress and her hair is down. _Wait why is she dressed like this, did Cade release her._ Her eyes are closed tightly and she's blushing, her hands on my chest and I realize I'm still holding her.

"Knight Allore, are you, all, right?" I ask my eyes flicking down her body to her legs, one is still inside a cast.

She peeks at me and her blush deepens, her blue eyes are so pale they almost look grey, a perfect steel color. I don't want to look away from them, they are beautiful and I bite the inside of my cheek _. Put her down you are the Elder of the brotherhood of steel, she is a knight, your subordinate._

She's smiling at me and opens her mouth finally able to speak a hint of mischief sparkling in her steely eyes "Now I am"

I can't help it; this woman makes it hard to focus and I feel my lips twitch into the smallest of smiles.

…

Alexis POV

I feel like a complete idiot, literally falling into the Elders arms of all people. After our last conversation, I can only imagine what is going through his head, I'm likely the last person he wants to talk to. He sets me down a bit awkwardly and I wobble slightly, my broken leg unable to support my weight. I catch myself on his leather coat and I can hear the ripping of fabric. _Oh, fuck me_ my eyes shoot up to his face and I'm speechless as I let go of a fistful of leather and soft cotton.

"Oh god, I'm sorry Maxson" I say righting myself staring at the new tear in his battlecoat. The stitches had popped wear I grabbed onto it and I could see the strange lining, it reminded me of ballistic weave inside old pre-war military fatigues.

He takes a step back and sighs, my eyes flicker to his and I wince when he doesn't say anything right away his eyes focusing on the damage to his famous battlecoat. _Shit, shit, shit way to go Lex_

"I can fix it" I blurt out and cover my face with my hands

He laughs, and my heart stops. _Did I just hear that correctly, is the Elder of the brotherhood of steel, laughing at me?_ I peek at him through my fingers and I confirm my suspicions, yes, he's laughing very lightly but its laughing none the less. He has a weird smile on his face and I'm confused.

"What's so funny, I ruined your coat?" I say dropping my hands, cocking my head to the side my blue eyes narrowed.

He stops and straightens himself up, hands clasped behind his back "After the morning I've had this" he gestures to the rip in his battlecoat "is the least of my worries"

I snort and fix the skirt of my dress, smoothing out the wrinkles "Yes well I apologize for damaging it, now if you'd like I can fix it it's the least I can do after you saved me from falling on my face"

His face is stern and serious and I can't tell if he's going to yell at me or agree and I stand there awkwardly waiting for a response, my fingertips twirling themselves in my hair. Eventually he nods and speaks and I release a breath I didn't know I was holding "Very well, follow me knight"

He doesn't give me a chance to say anything as he turns and climbs the steps back to the main deck and I frown. I move to the steps and look up I can see the light on the floor above me and I glare darkly at the metal steps. _This is all your fault_ I take a deep breath and place my booted uninjured foot on the first step slowly pulling myself up one step at a time, using what little arm strength I have. I'm swearing under my breath and cursing my bad luck and Maxson for making me climb the damned stairs when someone grabs me around the waist and hoists me up the rest of the steps. Placing me gently down on the main deck, my cast clinking on the metal floor. I turn and look over my shoulder at Maxson who is behind me, his hands returning to his sides. His blue eyes are staring into mine and I swallow hard. He turns and walks towards his quarters and I cock my head to the side, confused I go to open my mouth to ask him what he's doing but he turns and looks at me over his shoulder, holding open the heavy metal door.

"Come on knight I don't have all day" he says and I swear he just rolled his eyes at me.

I frown and stomp towards him, my bad leg lagging behind me and I wince in pain when it flares up. I step over the metal lip of the doorframe into his private quarters as he holds the door open for me. its larger than I would have pictured it, with a large table in the middle of the room, off to the side I see a tattered couch and a shelf. There is a terminal in the back of the room under a big brotherhood of steel flag and I roll my eyes. All in all, the room is sparsely decorated it reminds me of my husband's decorating skills when he first purchased our home in Sanctuary. I smile sadly to myself when memories of Nate coming flooding back and I have to bite my cheek to stop myself from breaking down _. Easy Lex, don't go making a fool of yourself you are not in pleasant company._

"Sit" he says and it sounds more like a command rather than a request, clearly someone doesn't have many visitors

I glare at him "Please" I say crossing my arms over my chest annoyed.

He turns and looks at me and narrows his eyes "Pardon"

"Say Please, I'm not a prisoner" I say my voice challenging

He sighs and pulls out a chair for himself at the table "Please, sit down knight"

I smiled satisfied and pull out a chair for myself, sitting down at the table. Its covered with various reports, several clean glasses a bottle of vodka and a box of cigars. He's still standing and I look up at him, he looks comprehensive and I snort "Please call me Alexis, knight still sounds weird to me. besides I'm off duty"

He frowns and turns away, pacing back and forth his hands clenching and unclenching. "It would be inappropriate"

I actually laugh when he says that and he turns around sharply to stare at me. I can't help it, it sounds so foolish that anyone would think it's inappropriate to call another human by their first name. I'm sitting in his bedroom for goodness sake, in a dress no less and he's worried about calling me Alexis. I sigh and place my elbows on the tabletop "It's okay I won't tell anyone" I whisper a smug smile on my face.

His mouth twitches and I can't tell if he's smiling under all that facial hair. He clears his throat "Very well…Alexis"

I smile triumphantly "There you go that wasn't so hard was it" I gesture to his coat "Now take it off". As soon as the words leave my mouth I regret them and I'm chuckling shaking my head. _Oh god I hope that went over his head_. I exhale through my nose and steel my expression looking at his face. A brow is raised and I slap myself mentally, it's my turn to clear my throat "Please give me the battlecoat Maxson, so I can repair it for you"

"Arthur" he says leaning against the table, almost to quietly for me to hear him.

I look up at him quizzically and break out into a stunning smile "Arthur…. I like it" I say testing out his name.

He shrugs the heavy leather coat off his shoulders and lays it across the table for me. I grab onto the soft leather and pull it towards me, its surprisingly heavy and large. My fingers brush over the brotherhood insignia stitched into the material. He clears his throat awkwardly and sits down across from me, my eyes flicker to him for a moment and I'm a little surprised. He's very muscular more so than even Danse and seeing him out of his battlecoat is like seeing Danse out of his power armor, completely strange and a little hot. I realize I'm staring at him and I quickly set to work on repairing the coat, I lay it across the table in front of me and reach into my bag for something I can use to stitch it back together. I don't have anything strong enough to poke through the heavy leather and multiple layers.

"Dammit, this is thicker than I thought, seriously Arthur where did you get this thing made?" I sigh holding the coat up to look at the tear.

"I had Proctor Tegan design it for me, I took some time to gather the necessary materials but it was worth it. You won't find another coat like it in all the brotherhood of steel" he said proudly

I ran my fingers over the thick wool collar and smiled "It is pretty awesome; can I have one"

I peeked over the top of the coat and smiled devilishly at him. He blinked at me and scowled "No"

 _Oh, way to suck the fun out of life_

I cock my head at him and twitch my nose, he looks uncomfortable without the imposing battlecoat, like he's missing a security blanket. He's not looking at me, in fact he's looking everywhere else in the room, his eyes trailing over the stacks of reports on the table to his right. I can only imagine what is running through his head now, I am or was at least always a very sociable person, this man on the other hand is outwardly cold and a little socially awkward. I feel a little bad for him, I have never really seen anyone aboard talk to him in a causal manner before and it makes me wonder if he has any friends. I know that might sound awful but it's the truth, he's almost always frowning and he is insufferably serious whenever we do talk, this is probably the most relaxed I have seen him. I look at my pipboy strapped to my wrist and tune the radio, trying to find a good signal to break the silence.

"Do you like music Arthur?" I ask tuning into diamond city radio, smiling when Atom Bomb Baby comes pouring out of the speakers filling the room with music.

He looks up at me and blinks his pale blue eyes questioning, I can't tell by his facial expression if he's angry or annoyed that I started playing music. He doesn't really say anything and I stare at him expecting an answer a little annoyed.

"I've never really stopped to listen to it" he says, the muscles in his shoulders twitching.

"What, you've never really listened to music. What is wrong with you" I say a little surprised.

He looks offended and I shake my head "I apologize, that sounded terrible, what I meant is why not"

His jaw tenses just a little but I caught it and I know he's biting the inside of his cheek, I often find myself doing that when Danse is lecturing me and I'm trying to control my temper. Reading facial expressions was always a strong suit of mine, which of course I learned when practicing law and his screamed shut the fuck up.

Two brisk knocks on the door saved me and both our heads turned towards the offending sound. Maxson cleared his throat and pushed away from the table squaring his shoulders he strode towards the door. I watched him pull it open to reveal a young boy, he was holding onto a white mug of something and the smell of coffee almost made my mouth water.

I stood up and limped to the door wedging myself between Maxson and the young boy. He was dressed in a similar fashion to the scribes, donning a military like coat and cap. His bright brown eyes widened when he saw me, his mouth slightly opened. I glanced at Maxson who was standing beside me, one hand holding the door agar a scowl on his face.

"Sir" the young boy squeaked out holding the coffee mug out towards him.

I smiled brightly at him "Is that coffee young man"

He eyed me quickly, clearly confused as to why the Elder had a strange woman with him. He gulped and stuttered "Yes Mam"

Maxson grunted beside me and snatched the cup away from him, his eyes intense "Dismissed Squire" he went to shut the door In the squires face, after being completely rude and I placed my hand on the heavy metal door glaring over my shoulder at him "Thank you Squire for getting Elder Maxson his coffee" I turned and smiled at him, kneeling slightly to look at his face.

He blushed slightly and backed up a step "You're welcome mam" "

"What's your name squire" I asked, trying to figure out in my head how old the boy was and why in the hell children were aboard the Prydwen in the first place.

He stood up a little straighter and puffed his chest out "Squire Rylan mam" his eyes shining with pride.

I stood up straight and smiled down at him, "Well Squire Rylan, I have something for you wait here" I turned and walked back towards the table, my pack sitting on the floor.

I could hear him shuffling around awkwardly waiting for me his voice a little insecure "Mam, what are you doing?"

I reached into my pack and pulled out a bottle of Nuka-cola and some sticks of bubble gum, ignoring the questioning glare from Maxson. I turned and held out the items to Rylan, his eyes light up and he shot a quick glance over my shoulder at Maxson, who I'm sure was glaring daggers into the back of my head. "Here share them with your friends" I said placing them in his hands patting his shoulder.

" _We. We aren't really allowed Mam_ " he whispered leaning towards me, his eyes staring down at the candy with an appreciation only a child could achieve.

I snorted and rolled my eyes "It's okay squire I will make sure you don't get into any trouble"

He looked up at me a little surprised, but his face blossomed into an ecstatic smile "Thank you mam"

I felt my smile grow even larger "You're welcome soldier" I winked and he beamed at me. I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze "Run along before you get into trouble"

He turned and looked over his shoulder a little apprehensive, the candy clutched to his chest "Would you like some mam"

I chuckled "would I like what Rylan"

He shrugged his shoulders "Coffee mam"

"Yes Please, it is in the mess hall" I asked taking a step into the hallway

He shook his head and glanced down at his treats then his eyes found mine "I can get it for you…..if you'd like…Mam"

I laughed "Well aren't you just the little gentleman, that would be lovely and please call me Alexis or Knight Allore if you'd prefer"

His eyes bulged "wait you are the new knight"

I shrugged my shoulders "The one and only"

He peaked his head around the corner of the doorframe and looked at Maxson then back at me a curious look on his face and I laughed lightly. "I'll be right back" he said turning and scurrying down the hall towards the mess hall.

I sighed and turned around facing Maxson, he was clearly not impressed with my behavior and I didn't care, I wasn't exactly impressed with how rude he was to that young boy. He was scowling at me, his icy blue eyes calculating, stance rigid, arms held at the small of his back. I rolled my eyes at him "What, why are you giving me a death glare"

"You have no business ordering around my staff" he growled

I felt my anger spike and I sneered at him "Are you fucking serious Arthur, I gave him some candy and he offered to grab me a coffee, I wasn't ordering anyone around"

He took a step toward me, the muscles in his face twitching "That's another thing _knight_ you have no right to be giving him such things in the first place"

I didn't flinch, I didn't move away when he invaded my personal space I just stared him down my eyes boring into his, I ground my teeth and seethed "You might have forgotten since you have grown up with the brotherhood, but children aren't meant to be god damn soldiers. I'm my time a boy that young would be playing outside with his friends stuffing his face with sugar. And that's okay because that's what kids do, that's normal"

"You might have forgotten that times have changed knight, nothing is what you perceive as normal, get used to it" he growled his chest rising and falling with each angry breath.

I wanted to punch him right in the face, I wanted to scream that I bloody well knew everything had changed. That since the moment I woke up in this fucking nightmare I had been trying to accept that nothing would ever be the same, that I had to accept that my old life was just a memory; but I didn't I just stared at him unblinking my anger eventually subsiding and I let me eyes drop a sigh escaping my lips.

"I am trying" I said my eyes downcast my voice melancholy, the smooth voice of Warren Smith singing Uranium rock playing in the background.

I sighed and move to the table leaning down and grabbed my pack, slinging It over my shoulder. I can hear him behind me, he's sighing "Where are you going Alexis"

I whirl on him my injured leg screaming out "Oh its Alexis now it is, a second ago you were ready to rip my damn head off"

He swallows and I sigh again dropping my pack to my feet and throw up my hands "What do you want Arthur, what do you want from me"

"Fix my battlecoat" he says a little cheekily and my jaw drops open.

 _What the hell is with this guy_

"Seriously, that's it, that's all you're going to say" I am flabbergasted

He nods his head the smallest of smirks on his face "That's correct"

I turn and grab his battlecoat off the table and sling it over my shoulders, it's very heavy and surprisingly comfortable "Oh I'll fix the damn coat all right" I pull my long hair out over the collar and stomp to the door wrenching it open and make my way down the hall towards the back of the Prydwen before he can stop me.

 _Okay what were you thinking Lex_

My leg is burning and it's hard to power walk with a damn cast around my ankle but I'm on a mission heading straight for Proctor Tegan to badger about getting the materials to sew the battlecoat. I have no idea what Arthur thought of me strutting down the entire length of the Prydwen wearing his extremely recognizable battlecoat in front of his soldiers and I didn't really give a shit. To be honest I didn't really think it over or consider how it would make me look. As soon as I passed through the mess hall all eyes were on me, like it wasn't bad enough that I was out of uniform I was also sporting their leaders favorite article of clothing. If this was pre-war times the women would be snickering about me wearing his coat like we were some secret item, I just wanted to embarrass him. He was going to try and be cheeky with me, get mad at me for giving a squire a stick of gum then makes me feel like shit then I would show him. I walked straight through the mess hall my head held high, his battlecoat just brushing against my bare legs.

A hush, that would be the best way to describe it, a complete lack of sound as I passed by, no soldiers talking, no clinking of cutlery on plates, no stomping of power armored feet, just my cast making the occasional clunk on the metal flooring. it felt strange like an odd sense of power wearing the coat, I felt confident and I smiled just a little brighter, flipping my long dark hair over my shoulder. As soon as I left the mess hall I could hear the whispering, I could feel the angry glares and I pictured their mouths hanging open.

I walked through Proctor Ingram's 'grease pit' as she liked to call it, not even bothering to stop when she looked up at me as I passed by a questioning look on her face. I was slightly out of breath when I finally made it to Proctor Tegan's storage depot and I leaned heavily on his small counter.

"What can I do for you knight" he said raising a brow at my odd ensemble.

I huffed a little and stood up straighter, fixing the skirt of my blue dress before looking at his face. I cleared my throat "Well I need thread actually and a needle"

"And what if I may ask do you need those for exactly" he said spreading his palms over his counter

I shrugged my shoulders "To fix this" I said gesturing to the rip in Maxson's battlecoat

His eyes flicked from my face to the battlecoat around my shoulders and finally to the tear in the seam. His nose twitched and it looked like he wanted to say something but quickly changed his mind, he turned and disappeared for a moment and I leaned my head into his tiny window to watch him. He was rummaging through a small trunk, pulling out various items, a bottle of wonderglue, a giddy-up buttercup leg, an old baseball glove, a battered tin can, then finally bingo a sewing kit. He turned and placed it on the counter "15 caps"

I snorted and rolled my eyes, digging into my pockets frowning when they came up empty. I patted down the pockets of the battlecoat and smiled when I felt something akin to caps, sticking my hand inside the deep pocket I pulled out what the Proctor wanted and traded for the kit. I turned to leave but a thought occurred to me, I hadn't spoken to him yet about acquiring a new uniform after June told me mine was destroyed or rather full of holes at Fort Strong.

"Tegan" I asked walking back to the counter

He sighed "Step forward knight"

"would you happen to have any more uniforms I could grab mine is disposed of" I asked smiling at him

He rose a brow "Disposed of?" he asked questioningly

I chuckled "Well you see the suit might have gotten a little torn up, you know with the super mutants, missiles and mutant hounds tearing into me"

He was about to answer me but stopped, standing up straighter and his eyes fixed on someone coming towards us. I flinched when loud purposeful strides were echoing off the floorboards coming right to us. I could picture the scowl on his face, and the tinge of red on his cheeks at having to march down his airship to take back his jacket from the disobedient vault dweller. Tegan's eyes flickered down to me and then back at who I was assuming was Maxson.

"Elder Maxson" he said formally

I turned and peeked over my shoulder at him and gave him a sheepish smile "I can fix it now" I said triumphantly holding up my needle and thread.

" _Knight Allore. Give me the battlecoat"_ Maxson said between clenched teeth.

I shrugged my shoulders and slipped the heavy jacket off, handing it back to Maxson who snatched it and put it on instantly. He was glaring at me clearly not impressed with my little trick. I smiled at him brightly and turned walking back towards his quarters. I didn't hear him following me so I stopped and looked over my shoulder he was staring at me a scowl on his face "Well c'mon I don't have all day Elder" I said boldly wearing a shit eating grin. Before he could say anything, I turned and started walking away, a little slower and with an odd sort of limp waiting for him to catch up.

 _There we go, that stride of his, catching up in three, two, one._

He was at my side, glaring at me and I couldn't help but smile, always so damn serious all the time. I flicked up eyes towards his face "What?"

He flexed his jaw under all that facial hair and hissed "Do you have any idea what you have done"

I shrugged my shoulders "Um yes, I got the shit I needed to fix your battlecoat"

His frown deepened when curious eyes followed us as we walked through the power armor bay toward the mess hall. "I am the Elder of the brotherhood of steel, you can't go waltzing through the Prydwen in my clothing, it gives the wrong impression"

I stopped and looked at him, my brow raised "Are you serious"

He nodded his eyes flicking towards a group of soldiers that had stopped to gawk at us. I laughed I couldn't help it, it sounded ridiculous to me and I think I might have offended him.

His shoulders were tense and he half whispered half growled "Are you always so insufferable and insubordinate"

I smiled brightly "Yes actually, ask Danse he knows"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

 _Maxson POV_

 _She's sitting with her legs crossed, humming to herself as she sews my battlecoat._ It's odd having another person share the same space as myself, even if it's only temporary. Even more confusing is why I brought her here in the first place, I could easily have had Proctor Tegan repair my coat for me, he would have been more than willing to detach himself from the storage depot counter if only for the afternoon. After the scene she caused earlier, strutting through the entirety of the Prydwen wearing the battlecoat I should have reprimanded her, I should have made her scrub the flight deck or the Prydwens hull, but I couldn't bring myself to utter the words. I don't know if it was the smile on her face, or the way her steely blue eyes twinkled with humor that made my mouth go dry and my tongue to turn to led.

She's looking at me, sitting on the faded red couch in the corner of my quarters, her lips pulled into an easy smile, her eyes squinted at the corners. In her lap is my battlecoat, her nimble fingers making quick work of the stitching. The entire scene is surreal, pre-war in nature and I wonder if this is what her life was like before the bombs fell.

I'm sitting at my desk, my back to the terminal studying her features, my expression is neither friendly nor cold, just stoic. I was never particularly good with conversing with my peers in a casual setting. Most of my life has been structured, laid out for me, I was told from a very young age that more was expected of me, that my soul was forged in eternal steel. At first it was very difficult, and as a young child I wanted nothing more than to socialize with the other children in the citadel, but as I grew into a man and was forced to adapt, to lead, I learned that being a good leader demands sacrifices and I suppose friendships was one of those sacrifices. I am a Maxson, the last of my name and the leader of the greatest division the brotherhood of steel has ever seen, my legacy is steel, my will is iron.

I'm scowling again, I can feel the scar on my face being stretched and I twitch my jaw, my fingers are clenched and my eyes flicker to them. My knuckles are white, and I feel irritated and confused. I like being in control of my surroundings, I like being sure of myself as any leader should but sitting across from this woman, who is so completely unlike myself is maddening.

"Arthur" her voice brings my eyes up to her face and I blink at her trying to force the scowl from my face. I don't know why I decided to tell her my name, it was spontaneous and it slipped past my lips before I knew what I was doing, hearing her say it makes my heart pound in my chest. I swallow and flex my jaw trying to form coherent words.

"Yes" is the only thing I can manage and she smirks at me.

She drops the battlecoat into her lap and leans forward, her elbows resting on her crossed knee "Tell me about yourself"

I sit up straight, slightly confused as to why she wants to know anything about me. I resist the urge to groan and roll my eyes, of course she has probably read the notes on Quinlan's terminal and is searching for validation.

"Did you read Quinlan's terminal" I grunt, leaning back on my chair, spinning slowly to face my terminal, maybe I can pretend she's not here until she's finished my battlecoat.

She laughs and my heart pounds faster in my chest, its light and airy a natural sound not forced or sarcastic and I want to hear it again. "I did, but I want to hear it from you, not the inflated version that Quinlan is selling"

I don't know If I should be offended or flattered that she wants to hear it from me, she doesn't believe everything that I've accomplished, I turn and look over my shoulder at her a frown on my face "Do you not believe I am capable of achieving the things outlined in Quinlan's works" I say with perhaps a little too much gravel in my voice.

She shakes her head "No that's not what I was implying at all, I just wanted to hear it from Arthurs mouth not read it on some damn terminal"

I grunt and turn facing the terminal again, its green print illuminating my face, there's an urgent message from the west coast brotherhood, a message from Kells and one from Cade. I won't be able to focus and reply to them properly while I have company, that insists on talking so much. I flick the power off and the terminal fades to black. I can see my reflection on the screen and it only makes me scowl further, _is this what everyone sees, a cold, calculating leader_

I sigh and turn around to face her, she's waiting patiently for me to answer her a gentle smile on her face. "What do you want to know"

She shrugs her small shoulders and picks up my battlecoat, creating a few new stitches "Start from the beginning I guess, I feel like the only information I know about you I can read from a file, that's a little impersonal don't you think"

"Every soldier on the Prydwen is logged in the exact same manner, personal information is not required, aside from next of kin, other information is irrelevant" I snort

She looks at me, her steely blue eyes far away and she frowns "So we are all just numbers in the greater scheme then, no bonds are formed because they are unnecessary"

I shake my head "No, the bonds of brotherhood are forged in steel, we all stand for the same principals, that is enough"

She looks saddened and her eyes pool with emotion, I feel out of my element and my defense mechanisms kick into high gear, my face is a mask of anger that she doesn't understand, when my head is swimming with confusion.

"You claim to be brothers in steel, but in my time family was the only tie that bound everyone together, how can I accept these people, how can I accept you as my 'family' if I don't know anything about you" her eyes are downcast and I'm taken aback by her words

"I am the elder, my accomplishments are the very reason I sit before you now, my ability to lead is unparalleled, my diplomacy is legend, I am Maxson" I shrug my shoulders

She shakes her head, her long dark hair cascading down her shoulders "I don't want to know Elder Maxson, I want to know Arthur Maxson, the man behind the name, the titles"

"Why" I mumble generally confused

She smiles "Because if I'm going to survive the commonwealth, I'm going to need friends, and friends talk to each other about their lives. Or at least they did before the war"

 _Friends_ the very word seems unfamiliar to me. I suppose the only person I could consider my friend now would be the Paladin, there is an air of mutual respect between us. I exhale heavily and run my fingers across my chin, frowning as my fingers brush against the massive scar on my cheek.

"Does it hurt?" her words rouse me from my thoughts and I subconsciously drop my hands into my lap, my eyes shooting up to lock with hers. I can't tell if she's being genuine or trying to generate a conversation with the first thing that presented itself. I can feel myself scowling again, I'm not fond of conversations generated around myself.

"No" I grunt and my eyes trail across her face, noticing for the first time, she too has a large facial scar, it splits across her right eye, leaving a small indent in her otherwise perfect eyebrows. It's still slightly pink, indicating it was recent, mostly surface and expertly stitched. _Cade_ I'd recognize his superior medical skills anywhere.

She fidgets in her seat, her eyes following my own, and she notices I was staring at her. Small delicate hands brush against the long scar and I swallow hard, looking away embarrassment eating away at me. _Great make her feel uncomfortable._

I clear my throat a little awkwardly and intertwine my fingers together tightly, I know my knuckles are turning white and it feels like I could break my fingers at any moment from the built-up tension. "Does yours?" it comes out in a growl and I bite the inside of my mouth, mentally kicking myself.

…..

 _Alexis POV_

My hands linger on my cheek and I lightly brush the scar, that destroyed my facial features. I was always proud of my appearance before the war, call me self-absorbed and shallow but deep down everyone is a little. It feels enormous to me, and I can only imagine what others think of it, he was looking at me, intensely and I can tell it was my scar. His blue eyes studying my face, taking in the details and it didn't take me long to figure out it was my scar.

His gravelly voice brings me out of my self-loathing and my eyes search his, behind the ruff exterior his blue eyes are holding mine and somewhere within the depths of endless ice I think I see a glimmer of genuine concern. I shake my head slightly, my long dark hair cascading down my shoulders as my fingertips still linger on my scar. "No, it doesn't, at least not physically anyways"

My eyes drop down to my lap, my legs crossed and my cast foot entering my field of vision, my toes poking out, just another reminder I will never look the same. He grunts and I can hear him shuffling in his chair, the old metal wheels squeaking as he turns his chair around, to face me. my eyes flicker up briefly to watch him, he's leaning forward elbows rested on his knees, his head bowed. He's looking at his hands and his obvious lengths to avoid my eye give me a good chance to look at him, out of the battlecoat and clearly uncomfortable perhaps a little vulnerable.

"It's ugly" I blurt the words out to fill the void of silence that has enveloped us and his head snaps up to look at me again, his brow raised in confusion.

I fidget under his intense glare and my hands slip towards my face and I cover it as embarrassment hinders me.

"It's not" the words are so quiet for a moment I thought I imagined them, and I move one finger to peek through them to look at him, my face still encaged in my hands. Those eyes pools of ice appear to thaw for a moment and I drop my defenses.

"Thank you" I whisper out loud enough for him to hear me, a small smile on my face.

He looked away from me, his eyes downcast and his jaw flexing under his full beard, the muscles in his neck straining as he swallowed. I sigh and drop my hands into my lap, looking down at my fingernails, they are chipped and dirty now and my hands are sporting fresh scars as well. I feel saddened looking at my pale skin, marked by the teeth of a mutant hound, the scars trail up my wrist and stop at my forearm. It's just another reminder that things are different now, that pain and suffering are a commodity of the world I now find myself in. I remember when I first left the vault, the overwhelming desire to crawl back into the cold void and succumb to the darkness and join my beloved Nate; the world was too different and I couldn't possibly survive long enough to find Shaun.

A small smile tugs at the corner of my mouth, thinking back to those first days now, after finding Preston, he helped me shape myself into someone that could lead, that could prosper in the desolation of the commonwealth. Then there was Danse, who taught me to hold a rifle properly, to shoot for the vital organs of the enemy, to preserve, to fight, to live. Now here I am, sitting on the Prydwen in the company of the elder of all people, fixing a legendary battlecoat, fresh scars and an old dress clashing against each other. The past mingling with the present in a never-ending battle, things are different and I need to accept that as an unholy truth.

My eyes flicker from my lap, to Arthur, he's not looking at me, his eyes focused on his terminal the darkness of the screen casting a mirror-like image of his face back at me. His shoulders are squared, the muscles twitching under his black uniform, and I can see one of his hands balled on his desk, his knuckles white. I cock my head and sigh, I don't know if he's upset or not, he barely talks and when he does the response is brief. I decided against starting up a conversation he clearly doesn't want to engage in and finish the repairs to his coat.

We sit in relative silence again, the only sounds that greet my ears are the consistent tapping of his fingers on the terminal keys, the lulling hum of the Prydwens massive engines somewhere deep within its bowels, and the occasional stomping of heavy power armored feet outside Maxson's doorway. My fingers pull the last stitch through the thick leather coat and I knot it off. I tug gently on the seam satisfied with my tailoring skills and hold the coat up. it surprises me again with its weight, and the soft feel of its worn leather under my fingers. I decided in that moment to commit its design to memory, determined to find the materials to mimic a less sophisticated version tailored to my much smaller frame. I stand with some difficultly, my injured leg, thumping against the metal flooring. it takes me a moment longer than I would like to admit to properly adjust my posture and I hold the coat out triumphantly.

"Here we are, Arthur, as good as new" I say smiling, looking at him as he turns and looks over his shoulder at me, his eyes flicking down to his battlecoat a small smile tugging at his lips.

I watch as he swivels in his chair and stands up, making it over to me in two strides and I'm reminded of how much larger he is than myself as he stands before me. I wouldn't consider myself a short woman, or a particularly small woman either, but standing next to him, I felt dwarfed. My eyes trail up his muscular chest and I chew the inside of my cheek. _Settle down Lex, for Christ's sake_. I hold the battlecoat out to him and he takes it from me, his eyes alight with happiness as he shrugs the coat onto his powerful shoulders, the familiarity clearly a security blanket for him.

"Thank you" his voice is deep and gravely, but there is something else behind the cold exterior, and for a split second I think its sincerity.

I smile proudly and brush my fingers over the wooly lapels, fixing it in place my eyes meeting his "You're welcome"

He nods and turns around returning to his seat at his metal desk. I sigh and turn around to gather my discarded coffee mug and my pack off the ground. I sling my pack over my shoulder and reach down to the couch to grab my pipboy. It's still playing diamond city radio, the soft music bringing a smile to my face. I miss dancing, I always loved music and I miss dancing away long nights with Nate, with my sisters, with my friends. I can feel myself swaying gently to the music as I fix the straps around my wrist, its weight a familiar friend. I turn the dial until the music stops flowing through the speakers and I feel some of my energy wane. I am met with silence again and I can see Arthur shift in his seat, he's looking over his shoulder at me again as I hobble towards the table in the middle of the room. He doesn't say anything, but I can tell he's watching me, his eyes taking in every movement like a panther watching its prey stumble around helplessly before it goes in for the kill. I twirl the coffee mug around my fingers and smile, making a metal note to grab all the coffee I see next time I find myself scavenging the wasteland with Danse. _Wait, where's Danse, I haven't seen him at all, since I woke up_

I turn around as quickly as possible and as gracefully looking at Arthur "I forgot to ask earlier, where is Danse?"

He frowns at my casual use of the Paladin name, which I find odd considering I call him by his first name as well. He sighs and speaks in his normal forceful tone "the _Paladin_ is currently stationed at Cambridge Police Station, seeing as his charge was unfit for duty and he healed several days ago I deemed his services needed elsewhere until you recover"

I feel myself frowning as well "Well when is he going to be back"

Arthur grunts "He should arrive back at the Airport 0:800 day after next"

I cross my arms over my chest and sigh "What's he doing in Cambridge anyway"

His frown deepens and his eyes narrow ever so slightly an intense glare barely concealed in the steel blues "I hardly think it's any of your concern given your current condition, but if you insist on knowing all my soldier's missions feel free to read my endless paperwork"

I know he was being sarcastic, but I won't let him beat me, I'm wearing a shit eating grin and I stomp rather unladylike towards the table, heaped with various paperwork, and pull out a chair for myself throwing myself down.

"Very well if you insist" I let my pack fall to the ground and I settle for the first file folder within reach. Its surprisingly heavy as I casually flip through the paperwork stuffed haphazardly inside. My eyes briefly scan through the notes and I realize I'm holding a report from Knight Sergeant Gavil from the logistics division department. I twitch my nose and sigh, okay so maybe I have no idea what I'm reading as I don't fully understand all the different divisions of the brotherhood. I decide to close that report and move to another one, this one slightly less heavy is from Proctor Ingram, and I feel myself smirking as I flip through it, the redheads clear sass shining through even in her reports. I decided after some internal debate to start with organizing the reports in appropriate divisions, starting with all the reports left from Gavil. I push my chair out with some difficultly and attempt to stand properly and for the first time I'm reminded that I'm not alone, my eyes flicker towards Maxson, who Is calming sitting to the side of me just watching me and I feel my cheeks heat up.

"Okay so this might be harder than I thought" he rolls his eyes at me and turns in his chair to face me, back in the imposing battlecoat I feel impossibly small and my temper flares that he's just sitting there "Well are you going to help me or not"

"I never asked for your help, you just insisted" he almost sounds cheeky and I feel myself snorting and rolling my eyes at him, steading myself against the heavy table.

"Yea because clearly you had everything so organized before I stepped in" I say gesturing to a file folder that was buried almost completely by the others a half empty glass of a dark amber liquid sitting just at its edge. As soon as the words escaped I sighed and rubbed my forehead with one hand, peaking at him to judge his reaction to my surprise I could tell he was biting back a laugh.

It only furthered my frustrations "What, c'mon Arthur"

He cleared his throat and sat back in his chair, one hand caressing his thick facial hair "I think you are handling it perfectly well on your own knight"

I narrowed my eyes at him, and he couldn't hold back his muffled laugh and the tiniest of smirks. I leaned forward and snatched the half empty cup of what I only could assume was alcohol and brought the cup to my face. it smelt strong and I downed it in one gulp "Very well your majesty I'll organize your shit for you, has the brotherhood never heard of secretaries before" I grumbled under my breath.

"Secretary?" he asked a brow raised.

I snorted and rolled my eyes setting the glass back down, the smallest tink as it hit the metal desktop. I ignored his comment and set to work with taking off my pipboy once again, settling it on the desk as I push papers out of the way. I dialed on the radio again, and smirked as the nervous voice of Travis filtered through the speakers, as he announced the next song to play from Diamond City Radio. I was happy it was something more upbeat, 'pistol packin' mama' and felt my good foot tapping my toes as I leaned over the desk and picked up a new folder. This one was new and was from Knight Captain Cade, one of my favorite people on this metal bucket, I flipped it open and quickly scanned it, and was surprised to find it was about myself. My medical condition, after Fort Strong and some general information, blood type, height, weight etc. It was odd and slightly chilling to read over the medical reports the extent of my injuries fully revealed to me. I was slightly confused as to why my medical report was being sent to Maxson at all, but as I neared the end of the report I felt myself smiling as Cade requested me to be temporarily stationed with him until Danse's return.

"Read this" I said closing the file folder and handing to it Arthur "Although my answer is yes if that's of any consideration".

Arthur turned and looked at me over his shoulder his eyes scanning from my face to the outstretched report. "What is it?"

"My medical report from Cade" I said matter-of-factly shaking the file folder a little to get his attention, he exhaled heavily and grabbed the report from me, turning in his chair again his large back facing me once again, I set to my task at hand. Organizing the reports as best as I could, from oldest to newest reports from each division. I was a little surprised that someone as famous as Maxson was so bad at organizing and apparently somewhat of a procrastinator it seemed. It reminded me of when I used to practice law, each case I took on was more papers that littered my desk and stuffed my filling cabinets. The endless cups of coffee and snacks from the office vending machines kept me going, for the short time I practiced before I left for maternity leave.

The thought of coffee left my mouth feeling dry and I looked down at my empty white mug, frowning. I had finished it a long time ago, squire Rylan must have brought it hours ago and my eyes scanned the bright green screen of my pipboy focusing on the small clock on the screen. It was 1700, and for the first time I noticed that I was getting hungry, my stomach rumbling. I had been here for hours helping Arthur with his battlecoat and his paperwork. I got up from my seat and stretched my sore muscles, raising my hands high into the air, a sigh escaping my lips. Arthur must have noticed and he turned in his seat, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"C'mon let's go get some coffee and food, I'm starved and if I stare any longer at these damned reports I think my eyes will melt" I smirked and grabbed my pipboy strapping it back in place with expert speed and reached down grabbing my pack and singling it over my shoulder. I stood up and smoothed the skirt of my dress and pulled my hair from under the strap of my pack and fluffed it over my shoulders, turning for the door and slowly walking toward it.

I didn't hear the telltale sound of metal wheels grinding on the floor to alert me that he was following me and I stopped looking over my shoulder at him "Well are you coming Arthur?"

He didn't say much just sat there in silence for a moment his eyes locked on mine and his jaw flexing before he slowly stood up and followed me to the door. Before I had a chance to open it, he moved in front of me and quickly spun the locks opening the door to the sounds of the Prydwen, the white light of the overhead lights almost overwhelming compared to the softer lighting inside his chambers. He held the door open for me and I rolled my eyes and stepped out. I looked down the long slender hallway towards the mess hall and could see so many soldiers bustling about. I rolled my shoulders and started walking down the hall, cursing my damn cast for slowing down my stride. I felt like a newborn colt learning to stand for the first time and my pride was suffering for it.

Finally, we made it to the mess hall and I could see everyone staring again and I felt myself sneering back, why was everyone acting so childish, I wasn't doing anything I was merely trying to get some damned coffee and what they called food now-a-days and god forbid I was with their overlord. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and beamed a knock out smile, stopping at the countertop my nails tapping against it. The mess clerk turned and smiled at me, his eyes flicking past me to land on Elder Maxson and his smile faltered, he stood a little taller, held at the ready, clearing his throat

"What can I get for you mam?" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him, and decided to laugh lightly instead.

"Please mam makes me feel old, just called me Knight Allore" I said batting an eyelash at him and smiling brightly, my still perfect teeth, white and clean enhancing my smile.

" _Knight_?" he almost choked out, his eyes going wide and I did roll my eyes that time and leaned further onto the counter giving him a clear view of my cleavage, playing on my charms "That's right, now please I need two cups of coffee"

He nodded his head and turned to fetch two new mugs of steaming black coffee, and I turned to look over my shoulder at Arthur and winked at him, earning an eyeroll. The mess clerk returned with our coffee and set them down on the countertop, and I reached into my pack and pulled out ten caps and set them down for him. He looked down at the bottlecaps then back at me, and began to refuse when I held up a hand and shushed him "Please take it, it's only fair"

"Thank you, mam" he mumbled and I snorted "Its Allore, please don't remind me that I'm 234 years old" with that I turned and left the counter knowing the clerk was probably staring at me, trying to decide if I was lying or not.

I handed the hot mug of coffee to Maxson and smiled up at him "Here you go boss" he took it from me, his large hand wrapping around the entirety of the steaming hot mug easily. I brought mine close to my face and inhaled heavily, the smell of caffeine and something almost musty flooded my senses and I groaned perhaps a little to seductively at the beverage. I took a tentative sip and smiled to myself, despite the age of the coffee it was still delicious and extremely hard to find in the wastes, I was thankful I found myself in the company of hundreds of solider brutes that found It for me. I opened my eyes to find that Arthur was watching me closely and I blushed slightly thankful that the heat from the coffee would suffice as a proper excuse.

"What" I said from behind my mug, inhaling its heavenly scent.

"234?" he asked slightly confused

I shrugged my shoulders and lowered the cup "Yes if you want to get technical, although correctively I'd like to think that I'm 24, that's how old I was before the bombs fell, I thought you read my file?" I asked a little confused myself.

He cleared his throat and regained his composure of powerful authoritative figure again, his stance more ridged, one hand behind the small of his back the other clutching the mug of coffee tightly and I cocked my head to the side wondering why he tensed up so suddenly. I went to ask him why when I heard the rustling of leather boots on the metal floor behind me and June's sweet voice.

"Alexis" I turned to look over my shoulder at her and smiled, she seemed confused and flicked her eyes from myself to Maxson and turned quickly to look back at Arthur who was retreating to his chambers. He looked at me fleetingly for a moment and I smiled at him before he left.

I turned to face June slowly, as to not spill my coffee and took a sip as she stared at me. "Uhm, Lex why were you with Elder Maxson?"

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalant "We got coffee at the same time"

She twitched her nose and rolled her eyes "Okay, let's go Taylor is waiting for us"

I smiled "lead the way"


End file.
